Discovered by Kaoru Ikeya of Japan and Daqing Zhang of China on February 1, 2002, Comet Ikeya-Zhang brightened to third magnitude in April 2002, making it the brightest comet since Hale-Bopp in 1997.   Viewed through 10x30 image-stabilized binoculars, the bluish ion tail could be traced out to approximately 4 degrees.  The yellowish dust tail was faintly visible but undistinct.

Instrument:   Nikon 300/4 lens, piggybacked on a C-9.25 on a G-11 mount
F-ratio:  f/4
Exposure:  20 minutes
Film:  Elite Chrome 200, pushed one stop to 320
Date:  April 14, 2002, 4:18 AM PDT
Location:  Landers, California, USA
Technical Notes:  The image was cropped to increase the image scale.