Hale-Bopp at T-26 days.
This is a painting of comet Hale-Bopp as it appeared on the
morning of 1997 March 6 from Tucson Arizona. When I awoke to
look at the comet, I was surprised to see the plume from a
rocket launched from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
The plume evolved spectacularly and I later took some photographs
of the plume. This painting attempts to capture the early
appearance of the plume along with the comet, city lights, and
cacti as might be seen from the Tucson mountains west of town.
The original is a 14 by 18 inch acrylic on
illustration board, completed March 1997.
Last update: May 7, 1997