Photopolarimetric Observations of CI(1657 Angstroms) and Dust Continuum Emissions From Comet Hale-Bopp with the WISP Sounding Rocket

We report on photopolarimetric observations of resonant emission from Carbon [CI(1657 Angstroms)] and scattered solar continuum from dust at 2800 Angstroms using the Wisconsin Imaging Survey Polarimeter (WISP). The WISP is a wide field (1.5deg x 4.8deg ) sounding rocket telescope originally designed for polarimetric observations of diffuse galactic light at a 1% photometric level. We will describe the initial results of our launch on 8 April, 1997 from the White Sands Missile range, including a discussion of the images obtained, and the results from supporting visible/near-infrared measurements of gas and dust from the Burrell Schmidt telescope, and spectroscopic observations of the CI(9850 Angstroms) metastable line from the McMath Pierce Solar Telescope.