C/1995 O1 (HALE-BOPP)
Date (UT) n MM Mag Ref Aper Type f x dia DC taildg tailpa Observer
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970503.88 ! I 1.1: AE - E - - -- - - --- J Warell
970503.88 - - --- -- 8.0 B - 11 -- 8 1.0 055 J Warell
Comments: Short, wide and curved stubby dust tail. Pseudonucleus yellowish. Gas tail not seen.
Difficult observing conditions. Bright twilight. Altitude 5.5 deg. Reference stars Beta Tau
and Iota Aur. Site: Uppsala, Sweden.
Date (UT) n MM Mag Ref Aper Type f x dia DC taildg tailpa Observer
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970508.89 ! I 0.7: SC 5.0 B - 7 2: 9 - --- T Karhula
Comments: Hale-Bopp looked only as a quite bright, fuzzy star. No tail evident with binoculars and
comet not seen with naked eyes. Bad viewing conditions. Twilight, cirrus covered sky and comet very
low (2.1 deg). Hale-Bopp must certainly have been a better sight higher up in the sky. Ref stars
Alpha CMi and Beta Tau. Site: Västerås, Sweden.
Date (UT) n MM Mag Ref Aper Type f x dia DC taildg tailpa Observer
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971029.70 - S 5.9 SC 8 B 20 6 7 0.3 290 T Karhula
Comments: A broad and diffuse dust tail, 0.2 deg wide at end. A nearly stellar central condensation
seen. Site: Geraldton, Western Australia
Date (UT) n MM Mag Ref Aper Type f x dia DC taildg tailpa Observer
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971102.74 - I 5.9 SC E T Karhula
971102.74 - S 6.0 SC 8 B 20 20 6 1.5 290 T Karhula
Comments: First glimpsed naked eye and then confirmed with 20x80B. NE gave m1=5.9. 20x80B: A broad
and diffuse dust tail starting in Vela towards PA 290 and then curving towards PA 320 in Puppis.
Width 0.7 deg at end (very low surface brightness). Hale-Bopp resided in a rich Milky Way region
near the Vela-Puppis-Carina border. NLM=7.3. Site: Yerecoin, Western Australia
Date (UT) n MM Mag Ref Aper Type f x dia DC taildg tailpa Observer
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971113.80 - S 6.1 SC 8 B 20 5 5 --- --- T Karhula
Comments: No tail seen. Full Moon. Site: Balga, Perth, Western Australia
Date (UT) n MM Mag Ref Aper Type f x dia DC taildg tailpa Observer
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971122.19 - I &7.2: SC 8.0 B - 11 6 5 --- --- J Warell
Comments: Round, diffuse with brighter center. No tail seen. Altitude 3.5 degrees. Bright sky from
3rd quarter Moon 70 deg distant near Alpha Leo. Cirrus over most of sky, but not locally at
HB position. Not an easy observation. Site: Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma,
Spain. Altitude 2350 m.
Date (UT) n MM Mag Ref Aper Type f x dia DC taildg tailpa Observer
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971123.19 - I &7.5: SC 8.0 B - 11 7 4 --- --- J Warell
Comments: Round, diffuse with brighter cc. No tail seen. Altitude 3 degrees. Sky darker than
last night, clear. Site: Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma, Spain. Altitude 2350 m.
Date (UT) n MM Mag Ref Aper Type f x dia DC taildg tailpa Observer
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971127.20 - S $6.9 SC 8.0 B - 11 6 5 0.3 025 J Warell
Comments: Tail wide, diffuse and faint. Small bright cc. Ref. stars HD62897 (6.2V) and
HD62850 (7.2V). Also seen with 8x25B. Very dark sky, humid. Magnitude corrected for extinction.
Altitude of comet 1.7 degrees (actually ca 3.0 degrees taking into account the low horizon from
2350 m. NGC 2516 (3.5V) easily visible with naked eye at altitude 0.8/2.1 degrees).
Site: Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma, Spain. Altitude 2350 m.
Date (UT) n MM Mag Ref Aper Type f x dia DC taildg tailpa Observer
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990221.60 - S 10.9: HS 10.0 B - 20 3.2 3 --- --- Timo Karhula
Comments: Hale-Bopp was still a relatively easy object with binoculars from a true-dark site
despite its distance of 7.8 AU from the Sun and the Earth. The comet was unexpectedly large,
round and moderately diffuse. No nucleus or tail were noted. H-B was situated in the W part
of the Large Magellanic Cloud, near the star clusters NGC1711, NGC1702 and NGC1704. The magnitude
estimate was somewhat uncertain due to the nebulous background. A 12.2 mag star was within the N
part of the coma. Observation with a 44.5 cm L @125x did not reveal much more details.
Altitude 41 deg. Naked eye limiting magnitude=7.0. Site: Chiro Observatory, Yerecoin, Western
Australia.