View the comet through telescopes from Monday through Friday of this week 7-10 p.m. On all dates planetarium programs about the comet will also be given. The map below is courtesy of Sky and Telescope. Tonight the comet could be viewed in comfort with only a light jacket. Hale-Bopp should be at its greatest brilliance this week, although to me its luminosity has been relatively steady for the past several weeks.
Comets usually peak several weeks after being closest to the sun.
H-B's closest approach was on April 1. Tonight a milky white dust tail with numerous striations arched about 10 degree away from the head of the comet. Without optical aid the tail seemed to extend about 9 degrees. The ion tail actually produces its own light, and it was responsible for most of the light output from Comet Hyakutake which was in our sky just one year ago. Overwhelmingly, throughout the history of Hale-Bopp, the light output has come from its dust tail.