Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997

Comet Hale-Bopp was discovered in 1995 but did not become a prominent sight in the night sky until early 1997, although it was visible to the unaided eye for over a year, the longest time for any comet on record.  My pictures below were all obtained in the March-April 1997 time frame in the western sky after sunset, from several locations in central Virginia, west of Fredericksburg.

My pictures show the comet as it moved through northern Andromeda and into southwestern Perseus.  In several of them, other objects such as the Andromeda galaxy or the Double Cluster can be seen.  I have never seen such a pronounced difference in the gas (blue) and dust (yellow) tails in a comet.  Who would have predicted that the next spectacular comet visible from the northern hemisphere would traverse almost the exact same scenery ten years later (Comet Holmes in 2007)?