After Comet Halley in 1986, the next naked-eye comet I saw was Comet Levy four years later. It was discovered by David Levy on May 20, 1990, when it was magnitude 9.6. Over the next few months it brightened substantially, peaking at about magnitude 4 in mid-August. I found that it was fairly easy to see under dark skies, and photos showed a nice tail extending for several degrees. In this photo, the faint tail can be seen stretching to the upper left.

Image details: 8-minute exposure taken with a Canon FTb camera and a telephoto lens at about 150 mm on Ektar 1000 film.

August, 1990