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(meteorobs) Hale/Bopp Obser Feb 9 ZAYGE




Feb 9, 1997
I made this mornings observation of comet Hale/Bopp from my La Mesa work
place on Mt. Helix. The skies were clear, but due to the surrounding city
lights in the vicinity of the comet, My Sky Limiting Magnitude was an
approximate 4.5. Using my 14X100 binoculars with it's 3.3 deg field, I
estimate the comets visible tail length to be near 1.7 deg. As for magnitude,
I again used Gamma Cygni for my reference star. My magnitude estimate for the
comet's nucleus and coma is in the range of 1.8 to 2.0. The nucleus still
appears circular. I can still see a small gap directly behind the coma that
quickly gets sealed off where the 2 sides of the tail meets. I definitely
wish to be at my Descanso observing site under darker skies. Hopefully soon
the comet will have moved suffieciently to clear a certain tree that's in
line with my telescope. Then I will be able to take some longer guided
photographs thru my 4 and 10 inch SCT's. 
George Zay
Long: 116 deg West
Lat: 32 deg North
La Mesa, Calif