The bright red patch to the lower right is the North America Nebula.
North is to the upper right.
H ERE YOU'LL FIND information about bright comets currently of interest to amateur astronomers. Remarkably, Comet Hale-Bopp, the Great Comet of 1997, followed hot on the heels of Comet Hyakutake, the Great Comet of 1996. After this dazzling cosmic one-two punch, comet observers are now back to business as usual, straining to follow the occasional faint, telescopic target. Or go to links to other comet-related Web pages. Here are the details.