What's Up! (Fact & Fantasy about comets & the return of Hale-Bopp) by Stardancer

Comets have been through out history, a source of wonder and mystery. Before we had the ability to look far into the heavens with telescopes and deep-space satellites, comets were thought to be heralds of messages from the Gods/Goddesses, or portents of disasters to come. For some folks in history, seeing a comet was about the worst thing that could happen. Hannibal, for example, who so successfully crossed the Alps in conquest, committed suicide after hearing that a newly-found comet was a harbinger of his death. Charlemagne, no slacker in the leadership department, was crowned under the auspices of a comet. He died 14 years later praising his God for having the grace to send another comet to warn him of his death. It is said that the night before the famous battle of Waterloo, a large, red tailed comet blazed across the sky. When Napoleon Bonaparte was told this was a bad omen, he scoffed at the prediction. The famous turn of the century author, Mark Twain was born when Halley's comet was blazing across the sky. Mark Twain swore he would live until he saw Halley's Comet return 76 years later. Legend tells us that Mark Twain lived long enough to see Halley's comet as he lay on his death-bed. Consider the Great Comet of 1843. Not only did it blaze brightly in broad daylight -- being visible to the naked eye 1° from the Sun's limb -- but its ominous head and large tail in a dark sky were seen as a "thrilling warning to all the inhabitants of this precious and transitory Earth," wrote Bessie Jones and Lyle Boyd of the Harvard College Observatory.

So what are the predictions and chatter about comet Hale-Bopp returning to our heavens early this year? Everything from the usual 'end of the world', 'dawning of a new age', to 'the best comet of the 20th century'. Take your pick. But what I can tell you for certain is that comet Hale-Bopp is big and is sizing up to be quite beautiful with just the naked eye.

The comet was first spotted on July 22, 1995 by two astronomers in different parts of the country. Alan Hale, a professional astronomer with more than 400 hours of observation time was viewing the night sky in southern New Mexico. Tom Bopp, who doesn't even own his own telescope, had joined some friends on a warm Arizona evening for what amateur astronomers call a 'star party'. Tom had spent a number of years involved in a club in Ohio that had a member owned scope which he apparently made good use of. Around the same time that evening, these two men discovered a comet heading toward Earth that had not been observed by anyone on this planet since the last time it passed Earth, somewhere between 3,000 to 4,000 years ago.

At the time of the discovery, the comet was about 620 million miles from the sun. There has never been a comet discovered at such a far distance from the Earth! So what that equates to is that comet Hale-Bopp is probably pretty big. How big is it? The authors of 'The Field Guide to Comet Hale-Bopp' (http://www.halebopp.com) describes it as being 'as big as a mountain'. They are estimating that Hale-Bopps nucleus is at about 40 kilometers (25 miles) in diameter. Comet Halley's nucleus, by comparison, is 15 kilometers long by 8 kilometers wide.

Even though the comet will pass near the orbital path of the Earth it will be nowhere near the Earth as we will be on the other side of the Sun in April 1997. It will approach closest to Earth (122.2 million miles away) on March 22, 1997. It is possible, although not likely, that we could see increase meteor activity in January 1998 when the Earth passes near this same point in space.

In early January, Comet Hale-Bopp will be visible with the naked eye from high northern latitudes in the morning sky before sunrise. It will climb away from the horizon as the weeks go by becoming more visible to North America. The comet is visible to the naked eye from medium dark skies and it is easily visible in 7x50 binoculars. In the telescope, Comet Hale-Bopp looks like a very bright cotton ball with a bright nearly stellar nucleus. The "tail" appears as a luminous fan that extends beyond the field of view in most low-power telescopic views of the comet.

From where I live in Raleigh, N.C., comet Hale-Bopp will become visible from January 14th through January 22nd, an hour or two before sunrise in the constellation Aquila found in the eastern sky. In February look for Hale-Bopp during the same morning hours with February 4th through 21st being the best dates for viewing when the bright moonlight will not interfere. The comet will be moving from Aquila through Sagitta and Velpecula to Cygnus. In March the comet will be well placed in the morning sky for observers. Best viewing in March will be the 5th through the 22nd when bright moonlight will not interfere. Now begin to look for the comet in the evening skys at the end of the month when it will be at its brightest. Look low in the northwest about an hour after sunset during the dates 24th through the 31st. Hale-Bopp is moving from Cyngus through Lacerta and will proceed into Andromeda. By April the comet will now only be visible in the evening. Look for Hale-Bopp in the west-northwest an hour after sunset during the first quarter of the month, after which moonlight will begin to interfere. After the 24th, the Moon is out of the way again at the beginning of the night. During April, Hale-Bopp goes from Andromeda through Persus to Taurus. Hale-Bopp will still be visible during the first half of May. By then, you will find it in the evening sky low in the west/northwest as it moves through the constellation Taurus towards the Mighty Hunter, Orion. Best observation at that time will be an hour after sunset. As Hale-Bopp travels through one of the richest areas of the sky it will grace the field of view of numerous deep sky objects providing exciting viewing and photographic opportunities.

So what about all the "Comet Prophecy" that's being talked about? Author of the science fiction 'Earth Chronicles', Zecharia Sitchin, thinks that Hale-Bopp is a "harbinger" of the return of the "12th planet" described in his book of the same name. Zecharia believes that the 12th planet is in the same orbit as comet Hale-Bopp, and will appear a few months after Hale-Bopp is no longer visible to us on Earth. Many Native American, Mayan, and Hopi prophecies also speak of a great comet heralding the end of this age and the beginning of the time when "star beings" will return to set things right on this world. Regardless of what Hale-Bopp brings or leaves behind in its wake, one thing is certain. Comet Hale-Bopp has sparked the imagination of many and is receiving the attention that any 'super-star' deserves. Don't miss the opportunity to get out and see what could possibly be 'the best comet of the 20th century'.

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