32.14-P

Optical Images of C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) During Perihelion

D.A. Pinnick, M. Womack (St. Cloud State University), G. S. Moore, D. Faith, A. Wiest, C. Modi, J. Ricotta, D. Suswal (Penn State Erie)

Images of Comet Hale-Bopp were obtained during perihelion using a 0.2-m Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with an SBIG ST-6 CCD camera with a group of undergraduate students. Red, blue, green and clear filters were used. Comparisons are made between images which are corrected only for bias-subtraction and flat-fielding and images which have been further processed and modeled to study non-isotropic expansion of gas and dust in the inner coma.