This evening the comet has a more condensed appearance. Although the tail does not appear so long - about five degrees, the head of the comet is now brighter and more compact as these two images show. The first is a wide field view showing the comet low down in the north western sky. The second is a 20 second exposure through the telescope showing a more condensed coma.
C/1996 B2 Observations 5th April 1996 With the moon out of the way for several hours after sunset Comet Hyakutake appeared to regain some of its former glory. The tail could be traced for seven degrees to the north east in 7x50B. Imaging with 50 cm f/4 revealed that the main jet feeding into the tail was still evident, however on the sunward side the group of three smaller jets were not visible. However, a double structured bow shock wave was now visible, and particularly when unsharped masked (lower image). This feature appeared as a semi-circular arc at the leading edge of the comet.
C/1996 B2 Observations 1st April 1996 Comet was no longer visible to the naked eye, but there was strong moonlight. CCD images (6 sec exposures) revealed that the nuclear condensation was not so stellar in appearance - it appeared larger and less well defined than a few nights ago. There was a far more pronounced semi-circular bow wave apparent on the sunward side of the nucleus. There might also be possibly a second fainter one farther out. The bright nuclear jet which was very evident a few days ago, could no longer be seen. Imaging with 28mm lens + CCD showed the comet as a shadow of its former self. The tail could only be traced about 5 degrees, although is now quite broad.
Comet Hyakutake 1996 B2 Observing Report 27th March 1996 The comet looked distinctly blue tonight through 10x50B. Through the 50cm telescope the view was magnificent. On the sunward side I saw a 120 degree brilliant fan extending from a stellar nucleus. I thought that the fan showed demarcation into several bright fountains which was later confirmed by CCD images. Immediately behind this and lying either side of the main jet were two dark and prominent zones, (I think the technical name is "nuclear shadows") which contrasted with the brighter coma. The main jet bisected this dark feature and showed slight gradations of brightness along its length. Unsharp masked CCD images showed the bright fan to be composed of three fountains of bright ejecta - two prominent and one fainter. Lying between these we could see a further two dark shadows radiating out (not so dark as the main pair on the other side of the nucleus). A wealth of detail showed up in 3 sec exposures with 50 cm f/4 and CCD. Images taken with the 28mm lens and CCD showed the ion tail to be much narrower and brighter than when I last imaged it three days ago.
This series are all six second exposures with 50 cm f/4 and SX CCD. The images have processed with a high pass high power filter which has accentuated the nuclear jets, and also the fragments aligned along the main jet. Also evident are the mysterious dark nuclear shadows.
Hyakutake was seen shining through foggy skies high overhead tonight. It could be seen even though the brightest stars of Ursa Major were not visible. Luck was on my side and the sky cleared in the zenith for about thirty minutes giving me the best views yet. The coma now appears to be 1.3 degrees in size and I could trace the tail out to twenty degrees with the naked eye.
Clear skies at our Wessex Astro Field Meeting here on Saturday 16th March gave everyone a chance to view the now bright comet with a range of instruments. Graeme Barnwell was the first to spot the comet rising just three degrees above the horizon. It appeared to be at mag 3.5 .