Title: Comet Hale-Bopp at Cataloochee Maggie Valley, NC, April 2, 1997

Just above Maggie Valley, N.C. is a resort called Cataloochee Ski Area. At an altitude of over 6,000 feet, I found it a great place to observe. Fortunately, on this night there were no clouds and the Comet stood out prominently in the sky.
This image reminds me of my childhood experience with Comet Mrkos in 1957. Comet Mrkos was discovered near perihelion, the closest approach to the sun. Most comets are discovered long before perihelion but this one came in from the other side of the sun. We had just moved onto a farm from the city. I walked out one night to see the stars and saw an unknown object hanging just above the tree line. My Dad identified it as a comet. The discovery had not hit the papers yet. This stimulated my lifelong interest in astronomy.
This image was taken with an Olympus OM 2 with a 50mm lens, piggybacked on a 8 inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. I used Kodak Royal Gold 1000 speed film and an exposure time of 2 minutes. Weather Conditions: Very clear, arctic front, 15 degrees F.
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