Sonoran Hyakutake. This is the first of what I hope will be many southwestern theme astronomical paintings. I decided to imagine what comet Hyakutake might look like as it approached perihelion in the evening twilight from the San Xavier Mission in Tucson Arizona, not far from my house. Since this painting was executed before the date depicted, I used an optomistic imagination to depict the comet which unfortunately did not get anywhere near this bright.

This painting was made between March 30 and April 5, 1996, and is acrylic on an 20 by 24 inch canvas board. Featured in Comets: Creators and Destroyers by David H. Levy, 1998

Last update: November 18, 1998