Photos of Comet Hale-Bopp
I was given special access to the ancient site of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, over Easter weekend 1997 when the comet was near its best. The monument was built around 5,000 years ago and is one of the few man-made structures here when Hale-Bopp last visited 4,200 years ago.
These pictures are time exposures, of 3-5 minutes duration, taken on March 28th, 1997, with the camera on a motorised platform which was made to follow the stars as the Earth rotated. That is why the stones appear slightly blurred - they moved!
By popular demand (no, really) I have made two of the shots available as art prints. If you are interested, you can find out more here.
The picture, left,was take on Easter Monday, March 31, over the ruins of Reculver on the north Kent coast near Herne Bay. This is a shorter exposure which explains why the towers appear sharper.
The camera used was an Olympus OM20 35mm camera with a 24mm lens at f4. Film is Scotchchrome 800/3200 processed at 1600. These 'old' mechanical cameras are perfect for taking astronomical shots like these. They are far more flexible than today's models which try to do everything for you and which just run down the batteries when they hold the shutter open!
