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Comet of the Century

Instead of turning on the TV tonight, take a look outside. Starting this week, the greatest show on earth can be seen from your backyard: a huge ball, blazing in the evening sky.

Hale-Bopp, a newly discovered comet about 20 miles wide, is so dazzlingly bright, says astronomer Daniel Green, that "it'll be hard for the average person not to see it. This could be the most viewed comet in all of human history."

Since February, Hale-Bopp has been visible in the northern hemisphere. But only early birds could catch the comet, well before dawn. From March 20 on, it may be seen at night.

The comet is named for part-time astronomers Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp. On July 23, 1995, a few hundred miles apart from each other, both spotted a "fuzzy object" near a cluster of stars: a comet!

Comets look like fireballs but are actually giant chunks of ice and dust left over from the formation of the solar system. Some scientists believe a comet wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

Billions of comets hang out beyond Neptune in the freezing Oort cloud. When one falls in toward the sun, a hazy cloud of dust forms around the solid core, creating a brilliant sight.

Comet Hyakutake (pronounced yah-koo-tah-key) passed within 9 million miles of viewers last March. Hale-Bopp, brighter and bigger, is not as near. At its closest point, which it will reach around April 1, the comet will be about 120 million miles from the earth.

Hale-Bopp will put on a show for the southern hemisphere through next fall, before it heads back toward the Oort cloud. No one can say when it will return for an encore.

For more on Hale-Bopp visit Sky & Telescope on the Web (www.skypub.com).

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