Re: Here . . .
When you speak of the comet being brighter, that will cause a decrease in the luminosity of stars nearby, which we do see as the comet approaches, but the oposite effect is evident looking at stars thru the tail of the comet. I know the tail is in the shadow of the comet, and thus maybe could explaint why more stars are evident. It could also be an effect, similar to a fresnel lense, caused by crystaline vapors. I don't know which is correct, but both need to be considered.
Dan