Collecting The Comet

This 5-10-minute time exposure captured the comet Hale-Bopp low in the northwest sky of Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 8:30 PM on March 19, 1997. The illumination in the foreground was created from ambient light emanating from a house window. The coma (head) of the comet set about an hour later. Above Hale-Bopp is the constellation Cassiopeia. This image was shot from Inwood Court NE in the Northbrook II residential development.