Probably the biggest comet I’ve ever seen, Comet Hykutake in 1996 was truly something extraordinary. I remember being at a rest stop that was being constructed on I-49, north of Opelousas, LA. It was a perfect place since it was so dark. But, a few people would drive in and pass by me. A couple cars stopped and asked what I was seeing. I told one group to get out the car and look up. Hyakutake stretched half-way across the sky – a huge comet with a tremendous tail. It was breathtaking from a dark sky location. They were dumbstruck after seeing it, not realizing that a magnificent comet was right over their heads and they never noticed it.
Here’s a few more images:
Mike, I have almost the exact same picture of Hyakutake as the top one of the three bottom pictures on this page. We must have taken them on the same night only a half hour apart or so. I don’t have the data for when I took it. I have the digitized image on my computer so it isn’t as good as the original but the stars are all in the correct places. I did not have the opportunity to piggyback so mine was only on a tripod. I found the picture on a google search looking for one that was close in appearance to mine. Mine was taken in Ohio.