Cul-de-sac Comet

A testament to Hale-Bopp being one of the brightest comets of the 20th century, the icy object shines brightly in the northwest sky despite the camera's close proximity to ambient street light pollution on Inwood Court NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Hale-Bopp was shining at a robust -1.79 apparent magnitude when this five-minute exposure was taken just before 7:30 PM on Sunday, March 30, 1997. The comet was located within the constellation Andromeda during this time. Cassiopeia is to the upper right. The faint fuzzy blob nearly between the roof peak at left and the chimney at center is M31, the Andromeda galaxy.