Hale-Bopp, Comet (C/1995 O1)
The brightest comet seen in recent years,
even though it came no closer to Earth than 1.32 AU (197,000,000 km). Discovered
independently by Alan Hale, director of the Southwest Institute for Space
Research (New Mexico), and amatuer astronomer Thomas Bopp (Arizona) on July
22, 1995, it reached perihelion on April
1, 1997, and was visible to the naked-eye for many months. Its nucleus seems
to be very large – about 40 km across – and spins around once
every 11.4 hours. Last seen in 1997, Hale-Bopp has an orbital period of
2,380 years and won't be seen again until AD 4377.
Related
category
• COMETS
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