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Observer: Allen Ginzburg
Location: Aptos, California
Date: September 6, 1996 04:57 UT
CCD image of Hale Bopp. Telesope: 10" Meade LX-200 at f/6.3. Camera: Pixel211 CCD (field approx. 5.5' square). Exposure: 60 seconds.
It seems to show the nucleus in 2 parts.
Allen Ginzburg
January 29, 1997 update: I discovered that the split nucleus is the result of Comet Hale-Bopp passing a 12.78 magnitude star, listed in the Hubble GSC as GSC-05092-0363.
Comet Hale-Bopp Home Page