Hale Bopp: Comet of the Century!

• Recent images (November 7, 1997). 
• Observer's reports (October 9, 1997).
• Jets and shells (October 1, 1997).
• New ephemeris, by Don Yeomans (April 1, 1997).
• Animated map from Soendeborg
• Comet Hale-Bopp Visible From Northern Hemisphere in Fall of 1997
• Mass Suicide May Have Link To Hale-Bopp (Associated Press - March 27, 1997)
• Sites to visit.
• Making a Comet in the Classroom.
• Astronomy On-Line: Comet Science Exercices.
• Hale-Bopp website guide.
• Last days for northern observers!.
• News (March 24) from the ESO Homepage.
• Remarks, autobiographies and photos from Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp.

Back to the Astronomy main page

THE VIEW FROM THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

By about the end of April, viewers were able to catch sight of the comet very low in the northwest in early evening hours. As April progresses into May, the comet climbs higher into far-southerners' evening skies. By late May, when their northern counterparts are losing sight of it, Southern Hemisphere watchers will still find the comet fairly high above the horizon well after dusk's end. Although Hale-Bopp will have faded substantially from its peak brightness, a fairly long tail may still be visible.

Thus, there is a possibility that observers below the equator will be treated to a decent display after all. And Southern Hemisphere viewers with telescopes will be well placed to follow the comet's slow recession into the distant outer solar system for the next couple of years.

March 20, 1997 March 1997 1997 SLO

Comet Hale-Bopp passed its perihelion - the orbital point closest to the Sun - early in April 1st, at about 03:19 UT. At that time the distance to the Sun wwas 137 million km and the orbital speed 44 km/sec. The distance to the Earth was about 202 million km while the comet was moving away from us at a speed of 13 km/sec. It was located about 43o from the Sun in the sky and moving at a rate of about 1.7o/day. The next perihelion passage will take place some 2380 years from now, in the late 44th century.  Hale-Bopp comet crossed the Mars orbit on January 8, 1996. The tail was not well visible at this moment because it was pointing away from the Earth (the comet was on the other side of the Sun and the tail pointed away from the Earth).  By the end of January, 1997, reached about magnitude 2.5, the tail was about 1.5 degrees long and the coma had a diameter roughly that of the full moon (half a degree). If you haven't heard of the supposed "companion" to Comet Hale-Bopp -also known as the Saturn-Like Object (SLO)-- then consider yourself lucky. Take a look to the article by Stuart J. Goldman, published by Sky & Telescope.

• Comet Hale-Bopp's light curve is rising faster than ever,

by Mark Kidger (IAC)
• Comet Hale-Bopp light curve update: best bet is a maximum around -1.0,

by Mark Kidger (IAC)
• False Nuclei and Nucleus Splittings,

by Mark Kidger (IAC)
• Comet Hale-Bopp Recovers, by Mark Kidger (IAC)

• Comet Hale-Bopp Update (September 25, 1997) 
• Comet Hale-Bopp Update (August 1, 1997) 
• Comet Hale-Bopp Update (June 13, 1997)
• Comet Hale-Bopp Update (May 16, 1997)
• Comet Hale-Bopp Update (April 30, 1997)
• Comet Hale-Bopp Update (April 23, 1997)
• Comet Hale-Bopp Update (April 1, 1997)
• Comet Hale-Bopp Update (March 25, 1997)
• Comet Hale-Bopp Update (March 17, 1997)
• Comet Hale-Bopp Update (March 7, 1997)
• Comet Hale-Bopp Update (February 7, 1997)
• Comet Hale-Bopp Update (January 28, 1997)
• Comet Hale-Bopp Update (September 13, 1996)

Tim Puckett

Sites to visit

Let's cook up a comet!

A dramatic and effective way to begin a unit on comets is to make your own comet right in front of the class. The ingredients for a comet are not difficult to find and watching a comet being "constructed" is something the students will remember for a long time. Dennis Schatz has a recipe for a six-inch comet than you will find at The Why Files .

Astronomy On-Line: Comet Science Exercises

Hale/Bopp website guide

November 27, 1996 (23:30:34 UT)

Tim Puckett is a worlwide known astrophotographer. This picture (click on it) was taken thhough his 30 cm Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope (SCT) at f/10 and Axiom AX-7 CCD camera. You will find more masterpieces like this one in his comets page.  Copyright 1996 © Tim Puckett.

Hale-Bopp  and NGC6366.  October 10, 1996 12.5" f/5 20 min.

Chris Schur owns an excellent page on astronomy and astrophotography. This view of comet Hale-Bopp besides cluster NGC6366 is a sample.  Copyright 1996 © Chris Schur.

Ephemeris

• 1996: every 12 h.
• 1997: every day (January 27, 1997).
• New ephemeris by Don Yeomans (JPL; April 1, 1997)
• April 1 - June 1, 1997: 3 hour interval, geocentric (Don Yeoman's elements, based on astrometric observations until March 13, 1997).
• March - October 1997: 1-day interval, by Don Yeomans (JPL; April 1, 1997).

Remarks, autobiographies and photos from Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp

	Alan Hale: "I love the irony -- I've spent over 400 hours of my life looking for comets, and haven't found anything, and now, suddenly, when I'm not looking for one, I get one dumped in my lap."
	Thomas Bopp: "The moment Jim said "we might have something" excitement began to grow among our group and I breathed a silent prayer thanking God for his wondrous creation."

• From Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp about their discovery
• Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp autobiographies

Images

Photos

Maps