This was
your sky.

Hale-Bopp: The Great Comet of 1997

Twenty-five years ago, Comet Hale-Bopp offered a spectacular display in Earth's night sky. This classic image, digitized from a 35mm slide, shows the comet shortly after its closest approach to the Sun in 1997. Its two memorable tails are visible: a whitish dust tail and a blue ion tail. The photo was taken with a camera and telephoto lens on a small, hand-guided telescope.