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Comet Hale-Bopp in the Outer
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| Title |
Comet Hale-Bopp in the Outer Solar System |
| Explanation |
Whatever became of Comet Hale-Bopp [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010326.html http://apod.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search?Comet+Hale-Bopp ]? The brightest comet [ http://www.nineplanets.org/comets.html ] in recent years has continued into the outer Solar System [ http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/solar_system/ ] and is now farther from the Sun [ http://www.nineplanets.org/sol.html ] than Saturn [ http://www.solarviews.com/eng/saturn.htm ]. To the surprise of many, Comet Hale-Bopp [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/comet/ ] is still active, continuing to spew gas, ice and dust particles out into space. Pictured above earlier this month, Comet Hale-Bopp [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/hale_bopp.html ] can be seen in the Southern Hemisphere [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001223.html ] with a moderate sized-telescope. The continued activity of Comet Hale-Bopp [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001227.html ] may be due to the large size of its nucleus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000805.html ] - estimated to be about 50 kilometers across. The unusual dotted appearance [ http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2001/phot-07-01.html#techinfo ] of most stars in the above image [ http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2001/phot-07-01.html ] is due to the 14 discrete exposures that were centered on the comet and not the stars. |
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Comet Hale-Bopp Over Val Par
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| Title |
Comet Hale-Bopp Over Val Parola Pass |
| Explanation |
Comet Hale-Bopp became much brighter than any surrounding stars. It was seen even over bright city lights [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970408.html ]. Out away from city lights, however, it put on quite a spectacular show. Here Comet Hale-Bopp was photographed above Val Parola Pass in the Dolomite mountains [ http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Trails/6876/ ] surrounding Cortina d'Ampezzo [ http://www.sunrise.it/cortina/ ], Italy [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/it.html ]. Comet Hale-Bopp's blue ion tail was created when fast moving particles from the solar wind [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000318.html ] struck expelled ions from the comet's nucleus [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000805.html ]. The white dust tail [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001227.html ] is composed of larger particles of dust and ice expelled by the nucleus that orbit behind the comet [ http://www.nineplanets.org/comets.html ]. Observations showed that Comet Hale-Bopp's nucleus spins about once every 12 hours. |
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Announcing Comet Hale-Bopp
| Title |
Announcing Comet Hale-Bopp |
| Explanation |
The pictured fuzzy patch may become one of the most spectacular comets this century. Although it is very hard to predict how bright a comet [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/billa/tnp/comets.html ] will become, Comet Hale-Bopp [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/hale_bopp_info.html ], named for its discoverers [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/hale_bopp/discoverers.html ], was spotted farther from the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950813.html ] than any previous comet - a good sign that it could become very bright, easily visible to the naked eye. This picture was taken on July 25th 1995, only two days after its discovery. A comet [ http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~cjhamil/SolarSystem/comet.html ] bright enough to see without a telescope occurs only about once a decade. The large coma [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/glossary.html#coma ] and long tail [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/glossary.html#comet ] of bright comets are so unusual and impressive that they have been considered omens of change by many cultures. A comet does not streak by in few seconds - but it may change its position and structure noticeably from night to night. Tomorrow's picture: An Orbiting Iceberg |
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Comet Hale-Bopp Fades
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Comet Hale-Bopp Fades |
| Explanation |
Comet Hale-Bopp has faded in the past few weeks. For Hale-Bopp [ http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/comet/ ], promised as the Great Comet of 1997, this was a bit of a disappointment -- but not entirely unexpected. Comet Hale-Bopp [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960729.html ] continues to approach the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960916.html ] - making the comet itself brighten, but now the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960819.html ] is moving away from it - making the comet appear to dim. Experts disagree on just how bright Hale-Bopp [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/hale_bopp_info.html ] will become. Optimists hope it will eventually outshine Comet Hyakutake [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/hyakutake.html ], but some pessimists now expect no better than 3rd magnitude - hardly visible from well-lit cities [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960617.html ]. Comet Hale-Bopp [ http://www.eso.org/comet-hale-bopp/ ] still appears to be, however, a very large comet, and is sure to show much activity as it nears the Sun. The comet should reach peak brightness in March 1997. [ http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/comets/ephemjpl3.html ] This image [ http://www.eso.org/comet-hale-bopp/comet-hale-bopp-summary-sep13-96-rw.html ] was taken on August 18th and shows gas shed from the nucleus of the comet. |
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Comet Hale-Bopp Over Indian
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| Title |
Comet Hale-Bopp Over Indian Cove |
| Explanation |
Comet Hale-Bopp, the Great Comet of 1997 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search?great+comet+1997 ], was quite a sight. No comets [ http://www.nineplanets.org/comets.html ] of comparable brightness have graced the skies of Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010204.html ] since then. During this next month, however, even besides the fleeting Comet Bradfield [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040419.html ], "two" comets have a slight chance of rivaling Hale-Bopp [ http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/comet/ ] and a good chance of putting on a memorable [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/gifcity/comet.html ] sky show. Unfortunately, most of the show will be confined to sky gazers in Earth's southern hemisphere [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021222.html ]. Both comets are already visible [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/RecentObs.html#02T7 ] to the unaided eye from there. The first, Comet C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) [ http://cometography.com/lcomets/2002t7.html ], should be at its best before dawn during the first weeks of May from the south. The second, Comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) [ http://cometography.com/lcomets/2001q4.html ], should be visible in early May from all over the Earth. Both comets [ http://www.space.com/spacewatch/comet_double_040319.html ] appear to be approaching [ http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/article_1037_1.asp ] the inner Solar System [ http://www.nineplanets.org/overview.html ] for the first time and so it is very hard to predict [ http://www.exploratorium.edu/exploring/space/kohoutek.html ] how bright each will become. In the above photograph [ http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/comet/pach17.html ] taken 1997 April 6, Comet Hale-Bopp was imaged from the Indian Cove Campground in the Joshua Tree National Forest [ http://www.nps.gov/jotr/ ] in California [ http://www.state.ca.us/ ], USA [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html ]. A flashlight [ http://www.geocities.com/~stuarts1031/flashlight.html ] was used to momentarily illuminate foreground rocks during this six minute exposure. |
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Hale-Bopp: The Crowd Pleaser
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| Title |
Hale-Bopp: The Crowd Pleaser Comet |
| Explanation |
In 1997, the bright comet Hale-Bopp [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970320.html] may have become the most viewed comet in history [ http://medicine.wustl.edu/~kronkg/past_comets.html ] -- visible even to casual skywatchers in light polluted [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970830.html ] cities around [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970408.html ] the globe [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970515.html ]. In this picture, taken by photographer Joe Orman [ http://members.home.com/rmscott/orman_index.html ] on the evening of May 8, 1997, Hale-Bopp easily competes with near twilight skies and a shining, over-exposed, crescent moon above Mobile, Arizona, USA. Where is Hale-Bopp now [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/comet/ ]? Still visible [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/whats_visible.html ] to telescopic observers in the Southern Hemisphere, the comet is outbound [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970910.html ], presently about 537 million miles from the Sun. (Jupiter orbits at about 480 million miles.) The long lead time provided by the early discovery of Hale-Bopp [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950820.html ] has allowed extensive observing campaigns [ http://www.eso.org/outreach/info-events/hale-bopp/ report-rw-hbitp98.html ] producing a bonanza of information [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/comet/news102.html ] about this primordial chunk of our Solar System [ http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/comets/comets.html ]. |
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Comet Hale-Bopp Over the Sup
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| Title |
Comet Hale-Bopp Over the Superstition Mountains |
| Explanation |
Four years ago, Comet Hale-Bopp [ http://galileo.ivv.nasa.gov/comet/ ] was discovered [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950820.html ] out near Jupiter [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/jupiter.html ] falling toward the inner Solar System [ http://spacelink.nasa.gov/Instructional.Materials/Curriculum.Support/Space.Science/Our.Solar.System/.index.html ]. Two years ago, it provided spectacular pictures [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/cossc/apod_search?Hale-Bopp ] as it neared its closest approach to the Sun [ http://shutter.vet.ohio-state.edu/astronomy/faq/index.htm ]. Still today, spectacular pictures [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970723.html ] of the brightest comet of the 1990s are surfacing. Above, Comet Hale-Bopp was photographed in 1997 behind the Superstition Mountains [ http://www.goodnet.com/~rfidler/Page/Superstitions.htm ] in Arizona [ http://www.state.az.us/ ]. Clearly visible are the comets white dust tail [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960326.html ] that shines by reflected sunlight, and the blue ion tail [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970514.html ] that shines by glowing gas. Currently, there are several comets visible [ http://comets.amsmeteors.org/comets/current_comets.html ] from the proper location with a small telescope. A comet visible to the unaided eye [ http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/bright_comet.html ] appears about once every five years. |
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