20 years ago, Las Vegas photographer caught Hale-Bopp comet

Twenty years ago Wednesday, Las Vegas lawyer and amateur astronomer John Mowbray took a photo for the ages — Comet Hale-Bopp hurtling through the evening sky over Red Rock Canyon at 43,000 mph.

“The wind was howling and it was overcast,” he recalled Wednesday. “After waiting 30 minutes hoping the conditions would improve I decided to go home. But as I was backing away, the clouds suddenly parted and I had one five-minute envelope to set up and start shooting.”

The image was published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and reprinted as a poster that was sold at the Red Rock Canyon Visitor Center.

Named for Thomas Bopp and Alan Hale, who discovered it in 1995, the comet of ice, dust and gas appeared as a bright snowball with a faint, blue-ion gas tail. Prior to 1997, when it was seen for weeks, it last appeared over Southern Nevada in 2213 B.C., and won’t reappear until late in the 44th century.

Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Follow @KeithRogers2 on Twitter.