The comet sets about 10:30pm this weekend (April 26-27), so if the sky happens to be clear between 8 and 10 in the evening, you should be able to spot Hale-Bopp easily in the western sky. Dale Ireland has a good comet locator map for April on his comet page, if you want to see where the comet is heading.

Planet Jupiter (mag -2.0) is visible in the east before the sunrise, and is higher every morning. Mercury has been appearing as an evening star and had its best showing of the year in late March and early April. Mars is high in the east in the evening and in the west in the morning. Saturn and Venus are too close to the sun to be seen, but in a few weeks Saturn will start appearing as a morning star, and Venus as an evening star.

April observations in Savannah, GA

Tuesday, April 01, 1997
Andy paid a visit tonight. He brought some new pictures, which I hope to get to this page soon. My intention is to replace most of the pictures with fresh ones this week. This April version of my comet page will be the last one in the trilogy - the public interest in the comet will fade away during this month, and Hale-Bopp itself will disappear from the northern skies before the summer. These three pages will stay available in the web for some time to come, only time will tell how long.

Wednesday, April 02, 1997
Tonight the sky was clear, and comet Hale-Bopp looked very impressive. I took some pictures from my home street, and also a few from the roof of Savannah Police Headquarters. It will be interesting to see how all the bright lights affect the view of the city skyline. We got a quick tour of the building as well, and my son was very pleased to learn some secrets of the 174 years old brick building.

Thursday, April 03, 1997
Another clear day and night in a row. I went again to Tybee lighthouse with my son, and took some evening comet/lighthouse pictures. But because I had to wait for Markus from his piano lesson, we got there too late and missed the twilight. The sky is pitch black in all the pictures, and the comet is already getting too low. I have to wait for another clear evening to go back at an earlier hour.

Friday, April 04, 1997
Tonight I was so busy with my web pages and email, that I forgot to peek outside and see the comet while it was still above horizon. The weather was reasonably clear; let's hope we'll have another good day tomorrow. - I got an email message from Gil Stacy; it might interest some other amateur photographers, so I'm copying most of it here: " http://home.earthlink.net/~forcefive/BarndoorTracker/barndoor.html
Using the above link, I went to Johnny Horne's Backyard universe page and made a tracker during lunch yesterday. It took an hour to make. I tracked exposures last night for up to two and a half minutes with my 50mm and 38-86 zoom set at 70mm. Got some nice tight stars. Check out the above page and especially Johnny Horne's page. -Gil"
The web page listed above is very interesting; I added it to my bookmarks, and might use it in the near future.

Saturday, April 05, 1997
Despite some very thin high clouds and contrails comet Hale-Bopp was visible this evening, but due to poor seeing wasn't very bright in Savannah. The peak brightness is now past, and the comet will gradually slide into oblivion in the coming months.

Sunday, April 06, 1997
My friend Philip sometimes sends me good hints in his email-messages. Now he reminded me that Statesboro Astronomy Club has links to a Hale-Bopp song, with words and a RealAudio performance. The song is hilarious, but also has some informative value. Click first on the RealAudio link above, and then on the words link, so you can see the words while you listen to the song.
- The evening was cloudy; a cold front was approaching from the west.

Monday, April 07, 1997
The cold front passed us overnight, but at least I didn't notice any rain. The clouds cleared by noon, and the afternoon and evening were clear and there was very little haze. I went to Tybee lighthouse before dusk to try and shoot some evening comet/lighthouse pictures. Hale-Bopp was very impressive; I hope to find at least one good exposure on my film. - I went to Wilmingon Park dock late tonight to see how long the comet could be seen. At 11:00pm it was still about two degrees above the horizon, but in the middle of the worst light pollution: just above downtown as seen from Wilmington Island. At that time I declared the comet lost for the evening, and noted that it is now visible from 8:15 to 11:00 EDT in Savannah, GA.

Tuesday, April 08, 1997
The day was sunny, but in the afternoon the clouds took over, and the comet was out of sight all evening.
During the next seven days I won't have much chance to update this page. I have to go to a conference in California, and before that I have to file my tax return! Contrary to my habits I cannot mail my return on the fifteenth, because then I'll be watching the comet on the west coast, not far from the departure spot of those thirtynine souls...

Wednesday, April 09, 1997
The comet's tail seems to be longer and brighter than ever before, and it makes a curve to the right. Hale-Bopp is in my opinion now more impressive than last week, and I agree with Charles Morris, who is estimating the comet to be at its brightest. - I exposed the second half of the film that I started on Monday. Most of my pictures were of the comet above the new Thalmadge bridge, but the two days old moon and the city hall share some pictures with the comet. I saved a few frames for the fairly dark Rails to Trails park, where the comet really looked impressive.

Thursday, April 10, 1997
Some of the pictures I took Monday night of the comet at Tybee lighthouse turned out rather good. One of the pictures is above, and another one behind it as a possible wallpaper.
- The comet itself is very well visible in the evening sky; you only need to stick your nose outside to see it in the west. But I have no time to enjoy it, because I have to file my tax return before I leave for California Sunday morning.

Friday, April 11, 1997
This afternoon I visited Pat Prokop at WTOC TV to give him some of my comet pictures. I also watched Pat preparing and presenting his weather shows, and he just happened to show one of my pictures in his program, along a picture from Becky Lowder from Statesboro. After the newscast Pat took me to a tour through the TV facilities, his weather garden, and the weather station. All this was very interesting to me, because I have worked at TV studios way back in the sixties in Finland, and eighties in Canada; I have done some gardening myself, and am an avid couch weatherman myself. Thanks Pat for a very informative time with you; the pictures turned out very good, and are on my hard drive for future use on my web pages.
- It rained in the evening and overnight, which was a blessing for the dry lawns, but made sure no comet viewing was possible in Savannah.

Saturday, April 12, 1997
This was a very busy day before my trip - not much time to spend in front of the computer. This will be the last update until I come back from California on Thursday. Comet Hale-Bopp was hidden behind the clouds all evening; today was a really warm and humid day. It reminds us of the hot summer months to come...

Sunday, April 13, 1997
I drove to Atlanta with two other men from our company, and from there we flew to Los Angeles via Colorado Springs. The air in L.A. was so polluted, that we didn't spot the comet on the way to our hotel in Anaheim. And since I was driving, I had to keep my eyes mostly on the traffic anyway.

Monday, April 14, 1997
At the end of the first conference day SAP America had a reception on the 19th floor of Anaheim Marriott hotel. The suite had a long balcony, that provided a nice view towards Los Angeles. A lot of the guests were looking at Hale-Bopp, which was very well visible and a good subject for conversation.

Tuesday, April 15, 1997
The second conference day ended with "A Festival of Fools" in Disneyland. Once again SAP treated the participants with plenty of food and drinks besides the marvellous Disney presentation of the "Fools". The evening was comfortably cool and clear, and Hale-Bopp was well placed for viewing above the park trees. Almost all the people I talked to about the comet had seen it from where they live. I autographed several of my comet pictures and gave them to some of the participants. Hopefully I'll have new visitors on this page through those photos (with my URL).

Wednesday, April 16, 1997
At the end of the third day we boarded a plane at dusk to fly home. Comet Hale-Bopp was very well visible from the cruising altitude between LA and Colorado Springs, and I almost broke my neck watching it in 8 o'clock direction from the small airplane window. The curved tail especially was great with minimal light pollution and atmospheric extinction at 37000 feet.

Thursday, April 17, 1997
The overnight flight to Atlanta and a five-hour drive to Savannah required some rest, and I took quite a nap in the afternoon. In the evening I checked the comet, and it is now right above our street, approaching western direction fast. At 8:30 pm it was almost 30 degrees high, and looked still very nice.

Friday, April 18, 1997
I spent the evening answering my email messages, but around ten I ventured outside to check the comet. It was exactly where I expected it to be, right above the western stretch of our street. But I must admit, that it has lost some of its splendour since last week.
CNN just told about a new observation: the comet has a third, thin sodium-ion tail. I'll try to find more about this subject on the Internet.

Saturday, April 19, 1997
My wife is a vice president of the local garden club, and tonight I had to attend a dinner with her as the spouse of a vice president. Comet Hale-Bopp was a good topic in the party, and it also showed up very well during the evening.

Sunday, April 20, 1997
The comet didn't look too impressive tonight at 9:30. Bright moonlight (full moon two days away), city lights, haze, and some clouds all took their toll. In about three days the moon will be gone, and we'll have the last couple of weeks of good comet viewing for about 2600 years, as far as Hale-Bopp is concerned.

Monday, April 21, 1997
I was so busy all evening with my photographs, that I totally forgot to go outside to check the comet. I guess it didn't matter much, because later on the sky was so cloudy, that probably nobody else saw the comet either.

Tuesday, April 22, 1997
Since my free copy of Microsoft Image Composer decided to expire, I have had to learn how to use the Adobe PhotoDeLuxe program that I got with my digital camera. And every program does the same tricks differently. This is driving me nuts; I'm trying to put together the final slide show about the comet, but it ain't that easy! Hale-Bopp itself stayed behind the clouds all evening. The storm system coming from the west is promising, but I have to see the rain to believe!

Wednesday, April 23, 1997
Still working with the images. I guess I'll go and buy the Microsoft FrontPage to get the damn ImageComposer i've been missing for a few days now. And make the richest man in the world a little bit richer... I went to see the comet with my wife tonight, but a sudden shower made us to run back to the house.

Thursday, April 24, 1997
Tonight the sky was clear and the comet well visible in the western sky. Hale-Bopp is now becoming dimmer and moving lower in the sky from night to night. It's not as obvious any more as it was a few weeks ago, but it still is easy to distinguish from the bright stars in the west.

Friday, April 25, 1997
Hale-Bopp was not visible tonight due to increasing cloudiness. The weather will be unsettled for several days from now; there is a large low pressure system approaching from the west.

Saturday, April 26, 1997
Cloudy, cool day, good for yard work. The rain showers were good for the lawn, but the comet stayed behind the clouds.

Sunday, April 27, 1997
More rain fell today, and the clouds just keep coming from the Gulf of Mexico. Will we still see Hale-Bopp this month?

Monday, April 28, 1997
The rain ended today, but the clouds stayed until it was too late to see the comet. Tomorrow promises to be a better day.

Tuesday, April 29, 1997
The weather was very pleasant today, but some thick black clouds in the western sky covered Hale-Bopp tonight. It's been almost a week since I have seen the comet.

Wednesday, April 30, 1997
Tonight the sky was cloudless, but somewhat hazy. Hale-Bopp made its final appearance for this page; this is the last update before I move my April page to archive.
I saw the comet first at 8:35pm when the sky was dark enough for an observation. It was almost due west, about 20 degrees above the horizon. The following hour and forty minutes I dedicated to Hale-Bopp: I dragged my telescope to the back yard, where I both watched the comet and took a couple of pictures through the scope. The opening in the trees toward the west was quite small, so I had to move the scope several times in order to keep the comet in view.
After ten o'clock I went to the community dock, which provides an uninterrupted view of the western horizon. At 10:15 the comet was about 5 degrees high, but was difficult to see because it was in the middle of Savannah's worst light pollution. I'm sure that from a better location, further from the city lights, the comet was visible past 10:30.

May pictures and observations are on their own archive page.
Backyard Astronomy Page will continue from where Hale-Bopp fades away.

What to expect

Brightness development of comet Hale-Bopp

Table 1. Selected Ephemeris Values for Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997.

 Date     R.A.            Distance from                       #of
 (UT)    J2000    Decl.   Earth    Sun   TMag1     Tmag2      obs
Feb 01   19 40   +15 28   2.004   1.368   2.5   2.1/2.30/2.9   11
Feb 02   19 42   +15 57   1.985   1.356   2.5   2.0/2.27/2.8   14
Feb 03   19 45   +16 27   1.965   1.344   2.4   1.8/2.10/2.4   10
Feb 04   19 48   +16 57   1.945   1.332   2.4   1.8/2.08/2.5    9
Feb 05   19 50   +17 29   1.925   1.320   2.3   1.7/1.90/2.1    9
Feb 06   19 53   +18 00   1.906   1.309   2.3   1.7/1.94/2.5   14
Feb 07   19 56   +18 33   1.886   1.297   2.2   1.4/1.79/2.4   13
Feb 08   19 58   +19 06   1.866   1.286   2.2   1.6/1.81/2.1   12
Feb 09   20 01   +19 40   1.846   1.274   2.1   1.3/1.68/2.4   24
Feb 10   20 04   +20 14   1.827   1.263   2.1   1.4/1.69/2.2   20
Feb 11   20 07   +20 50   1.807   1.251   2.0   1.3/1.70/2.2   20
Feb 12   20 10   +21 26   1.788   1.240   2.0   1.3/1.58/2.2   14
Feb 13   20 14   +22 02   1.769   1.229   1.9   1.3/1.52/1.9   17
Feb 14   20 17   +22 40   1.749   1.218   1.9   1.2/1.48/1.8   10
Feb 15   20 20   +23 18   1.730   1.207   1.8   1.1/1.34/1.8   18
Feb 16   20 24   +23 57   1.711   1.196   1.8   1.0/1.31/1.8   23
Feb 17   20 28   +24 36   1.693   1.186   1.7   1.1/1.36/2.0   12
Feb 18   20 31   +25 17   1.674   1.175   1.6   1.1/1.25/1.8   11
Feb 19   20 35   +25 58   1.656   1.164   1.6   1.0/1.18/1.4   22
Feb 20   20 39   +26 39   1.638   1.154   1.5   0.8/1.07/1.4   21
Feb 21   20 43   +27 21   1.620   1.144   1.5   0.9/1.12/1.5   13
Feb 22   20 47   +28 04   1.602   1.134   1.4   0.8/1.10/1.3    9
Feb 23   20 52   +28 48   1.585   1.124   1.4   0.7/1.01/1.2   22
Feb 24   20 56   +29 32   1.568   1.114   1.3   0.7/0.93/1.1   14
Feb 25   21 01   +30 16   1.552   1.104   1.3   0.6/0.94/1.3   21
Feb 26   21 06   +31 01   1.535   1.095   1.2   0.6/0.92/1.2   15
Feb 27   21 11   +31 46   1.519   1.086   1.2   0.7/0.82/1.0   10
Feb 28   21 16   +32 31   1.504   1.076   1.1   0.5/0.88/1.5   14
- Corrected ephemeris values by Don Yeomans -
Mar  1   21 21   +33 17   1.489   1.067   0.7   0.4/0.69/1.2   12
Mar  2   21 27   +34 02   1.474   1.059   0.6   0.2/0.52/1.1   20
Mar  3   21 33   +34 48   1.460   1.050   0.6   0.2/0.54/1.0   19
Mar  4   21 39   +35 33   1.447   1.042   0.5   0.2/0.36/1.0   12
Mar  5   21 45   +36 19   1.434   1.033   0.5   0.1/0.28/0.5   13
Mar  6   21 52   +37 03   1.421   1.025   0.4   -.1/0.19/0.5   14
Mar  7   21 58   +37 47   1.409   1.018   0.4   -.1/0.04/0.2   19
Mar  8   22 05   +38 31   1.398   1.010   0.4   -.4/-.11/0.3   13
Mar  9   22 13   +39 13   1.387   1.003   0.3   -.4/-.05/0.3   28
Mar 10   22 20   +39 55   1.378    .996   0.3   -.4/-.15/0.1   15
Mar 11   22 28   +40 35   1.368    .989   0.2   -.4/-.19/0.3   18
Mar 12   22 36   +41 14   1.360    .982   0.2   -.6/-.24/0.0   16
Mar 13   22 44   +41 51   1.352    .976   0.2   -.6/-.29/0.3   14
Mar 14   22 53   +42 26   1.344    .970   0.1   -.7/-.45/-.1   11
- Corrected ephemeris values by Don Yeomans -
Mar 15   23 02   +42 58   1.338    .964   -.5   -.5/-.28/0.1    5
Mar 16   23 11   +43 29   1.332    .959   -.6   -.9/-.47/0.0   13
Mar 17   23 20   +43 57   1.328    .953   -.6   -.9/-.47/0.0   13
Mar 18   23 29   +44 22   1.323    .949   -.6   -.7/-.57/-.3    9
Mar 19   23 39   +44 44   1.320    .944   -.6   -.8/-.60/-.3   12
Mar 20   23 49   +45 04   1.318    .940   -.7   -.8/-.58/-.3    9
Mar 21   23 58   +45 20   1.316    .936   -.7  -1.0/-.61/-.3   12
Mar 22   00 08   +45 32   1.315*   .932   -.7  -1.0/-.59/-.3    8
Mar 23   00 19   +45 42   1.315    .929   -.7  -1.0/-.54/-.2   10
Mar 24   00 29   +45 48   1.316    .926   -.7  -1.0/-.61/0.1   10
Mar 25   00 39   +45 50*  1.318    .923   -.7  -1.2/-.74/-.3    9
Mar 26   00 49   +45 49   1.320    .921   -.8  -1.3/-.78/-.5    9
Mar 27   00 59   +45 44   1.323    .919   -.8* -1.1/-.79/-.4   14
Mar 28   01 09   +45 36   1.327    .917   -.8  -1.3/-.80/-.3   19
Mar 29   01 19   +45 25   1.332    .916   -.8  -1.1/-.75/-.5    6
Mar 30   01 28   +45 10   1.338    .915   -.8  -1.8/-.80/-.5   10
Mar 31   01 38   +44 53   1.344    .914   -.7  -1.1/-.82/-.4   10
Apr  1   01 47   +44 33   1.351    .914   -.7  -1.2/-.79/-.4   15
Apr  2   01 56   +44 10   1.359    .914   -.7  -1.0/-.66/-.3   13
Apr  3   02 05   +43 45   1.367    .915   -.7  -1.1/-.68/-.3   12
Apr  4   02 13   +43 17   1.376    .916   -.7   -.9/-.61/-.2    7
Apr  5   02 22   +42 47   1.385    .917   -.7  -1.3/-.65/-.3   11
Apr  6   02 30   +42 16   1.396    .918   -.6   -.7/-.50/-.2   12
Apr  7   02 38   +41 43   1.406    .920   -.6   -.7/-.53/-.3    6
Apr  8   02 45   +41 08   1.418    .922   -.6   -.9/-.54/-.1   11
Apr  9   02 52   +40 32   1.430    .925   -.6   -.7/-.55/-.2    6
Apr 10   02 59   +39 55   1.442    .928   -.5  -1.0/-.55/-.2   13
Apr 11   03 06   +39 17   1.455    .931   -.5   -.8/-.48/-.2    5
Apr 12   03 13   +38 38   1.468    .935   -.5   -.6/-.43/-.2    7
Apr 13   03 19   +37 58   1.482    .938   -.4   -.7/-.44/-.2    7
Apr 14   03 25   +37 18   1.496    .943   -.4   -.6/-.50/-.3    6
Apr 15   03 31   +36 38   1.510    .947   -.3   -.8/-.37/0.1   10
Apr 16   03 36   +35 57   1.525    .952   -.3   -.6/-.31/-.1    9
Apr 17   03 42   +35 16   1.540    .957   -.3   -.4/-.07/0.4    6
Apr 18   03 47   +34 35   1.555    .962   -.2   -.4/-.26/-.1    5
Apr 19   03 52   +33 54   1.571    .968   -.2   -.3/-.02/0.8    5
Apr 20   03 57   +33 13   1.586    .974   -.1   -.8/-.26/0.0    8
Apr 21   04 02   +32 32   1.602    .980   -.1   -.2/-.08/0.0    5
Apr 22   04 06   +31 51   1.619    .987    .0   -.2/-.08/0.3    4
Apr 23   04 10   +31 11   1.635    .994    .0   -.4/-.11/0.2    7
Apr 24   04 15   +30 31   1.651   1.001    .1   -.1/0.04/0.2    8
Apr 25   04 19   +29 51   1.668   1.008    .1   -.3/-.09/0.3    9
Apr 26   04 23   +29 12   1.685   1.015    .2   -.3/0.01/0.7   13
Apr 27   04 26   +28 32   1.702   1.023    .3   -.1/0.16/0.7   10
Apr 28   04 30   +27 54   1.719   1.031    .3   -.3/-.05/0.0    6
Apr 29   04 34   +27 15   1.736   1.039    .4   0.0/0.10/0.4    7
Apr 30   04 37   +26 37   1.753   1.047    .4   0.0/0.30/1.0    9
May  1   04 40   +26 00   1.770   1.056    .5
May  2   04 44   +25 23   1.787   1.065    .5
May  3   04 47   +24 46   1.804   1.074    .6
May  4   04 50   +24 10   1.822   1.083    .6
May  5   04 53   +23 35   1.839   1.092    .7
May  6   04 56   +23 00   1.856   1.102    .8
May  7   04 59   +22 25   1.873   1.111    .8
May  8   05 01   +21 51   1.890   1.121    .9
May  9   05 04   +21 17   1.907   1.131    .9
May 10   05 07   +20 44   1.924   1.141   1.0
May 11   05 09   +20 11   1.941   1.151   1.1
May 12   05 12   +19 38   1.958   1.161   1.1
May 13   05 14   +19 06   1.975   1.172   1.2
May 14   05 17   +18 34   1.992   1.182   1.2
May 15   05 19   +18 03   2.008   1.193   1.3
May 16   05 22   +17 32   2.025   1.204   1.3
May 17   05 24   +17 02   2.041   1.215   1.4
May 18   05 26   +16 32   2.057   1.226   1.5
May 19   05 28   +16 02   2.074   1.237   1.5
May 20   05 30   +15 33   2.090   1.248   1.6
May 21   05 33   +15 04   2.106   1.259   1.6
May 22   05 35   +14 35   2.121   1.271   1.7
May 23   05 37   +14 07   2.137   1.282   1.7
May 24   05 39   +13 39   2.153   1.294   1.8
May 25   05 41   +13 11   2.168   1.305   1.8
May 26   05 43   +12 43   2.183   1.317   1.9
May 27   05 45   +12 16   2.199   1.329   1.9
May 28   05 47   +11 49   2.214   1.340   2.0
May 29   05 48   +11 23   2.228   1.352   2.1
May 30   05 50   +10 56   2.243   1.364   2.1
May 31   05 52   +10 30   2.258   1.376   2.2
Jun  1   05 54   +10 04   2.272   1.388   2.2

Table 2. "Average" Atmospheric Extinction in Magnitudes for 
         Sea Level (z=degrees from zenith, 
                    h=degrees from horizon)

     z      ext.    h
     0      0.3    90  (zenith)
    10      0.3    80
    20      0.3    70
    30      0.3    60
    40      0.4    50
    45      0.4    45
    50      0.4    40
    55      0.5    35       For example, an object 35º above 
    60      0.6    30       the horizon looses 0.5 magnitudes 
    65      0.7    25       because of the atmospheric  
    70      0.8    20       extinction, but an object only 6º 
    75      1.1    15       above horizon looses 2.5 magnitudes.
    80      1.6    10       Thus, if a comet at 6º looks as 
    82      1.9     8       bright as a star at 35º, it actually
    84      2.5     6       is 2 magnitudes brighter.
    85      2.9     5
    86      3.5     4
    87      4.2     3
    88      5.4     2
    89      7.4     1
    90     11.2     0  (horizon)

Clear skies!

If you have any comments, please send email to Topi Tuomi.