Details of the structure in these images give clues to the physical processes of CN and dust in Comet Hale-Bopp. The individual images used to produce these pictures are shown immediately below. These four images taken at the WIYN telescope on Kitt Peak near Tucson, AZ, show structure in the gas and dust composition of Comet Hale-Bopp. The spiral structure apparent in these pictures results from jets of gaseous material being ejected in a stream from the comet nucleus. The rotation of the comet nucleus, approximately once every eleven hours at the time these images were taken, wraps the ejected material around the nucleus in the spiral structure shown.
North is to the top and east is to the right.
The sun is shining from south of southeast, or slightly left of bottom in these pictures. These images were used to produce the combined false-color enhanced images immediately above. These six images of Comet Hale-Bopp have been processed so the gas and dust in the comet can be investigated separately. The cyanogen gas is re-emitting light absorbed from the sun. This process is known as fluorescence and is more efficient closer to the sun.