41° 17' 16" N  -  84° 22' 26" W

Halley's Comet Visit...

Throughout my childhood years, my Grandfather described again and again the 1910 passage of Halley's comet.  He recalled that it was the most impressive astronomical event he had ever seen.  Visible for weeks, it adorned the night sky (even visible in broad daylight for several days) and left a lasting impression which kept all of us highly anticipating the 1986 apparition.

In 1985, as the time neared for it's 76 year return, research showed that the view for us Northern Hemisphere observers was going to be poor at best.  Not only was the comet going to be much further from Earth than in 1910, but at the time of its closest passage,  the Earth was in almost the worst possible orbital position for viewers North of the equator.  My good friend Joe Schackow and I made plans to travel halfway around the world to New Zealand - There, the comet would be visible all night, and pass nearly overhead at midnight.  We packed up the 8" scope, cameras, tripods, binoculars, and even our own film developing equipment and headed down under.  Once there, we rented a campervan and began one of the most memorable trips we would ever experience. For 14 days we toured the country observing & photographing the comet as it cruised through some of the darkest skies on Earth.  Seeing the Milky Way and other southern sky objects with no light pollution to spoil the view is something EVERYONE should see.

Upon returning from NZ, my fascination with comets continued to grow.  Comets Hyukatake and Hale-Bopp were some of the most beautiful and interesting visitors to our solar system.  I took dozens of photos of them every clear night they were visible.

Halley's Comet from New Zealand

Comet Hyukatake