After successful completion of the RPO project, the chief astronomer at the Yunnan Astronomical Observatory site in Kunming, China, Kaifan Ji, sent a series of special images, on behalf of the RPO team, with thank-you messages written on them to members of the IRC Chatnet channels who had been of assistance.
The images of the Hale-Bopp comet gracing the early evening or early morning skies in March, 1997, were taken with a special astronomical photography technique, which makes them particularly beautiful views. This comet is seen in our solar system only once every 2000 years or so. There is also a special view of Mars and another view of the 1996 Hyukatake comet. We hope viewers of this page enjoy these images as much as we did!
Here are the special views of the Hale-Bopp comet sent to some the IRC friends who helped with internet aspects of the RPO project:
The telescope through which these observations were made was constructed in East Germany, and installed in the Yunnan Observatory in March, 1979. Until 1988, this 1-meter mirror telescope was the largest in China; at present it is the fifth largest in China.
Go back to the top of this document, OR return to the RPO test image page to see the credits and thank-you messages
OR go back to RPO Homepage