Comet Hale-Bopp seen over Indian Cove

Comet Hale-Bopp, the Great Comet of 1997, was quite a sight. In this photograph taken on 1997 April 6, Comet Hale-Bopp was imaged from the Indian Cove Campground in the Joshua Tree National Park in California, USA. A flashlight was used to momentarily illuminate foreground rocks in this six minute exposure. An impressive blue ion tail was visible above a sunlight-reflecting white dust tail. Comet Hale-Bopp remained visible to the unaided eye for over a year before returning to the outer Solar System and fading.

Image Credit & Copyright: Wally Pacholka
Explanation from: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131124.html