This last decade has been an exceptional one for 'great'
comets. Starting in 1994, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 made a big splash in the
news, and the eyes of the world, when it broke up into several fragments,
and like machine gun fire, slammed into our planetary neighbor, Jupiter.
The effects lasted for quite awhile, allowing astronomers and scientists
the opportunity to witness the results of such a previously unseen event.
Then, in January of 1996, an amateur astronomer spotted a large comet, headed
towards our planetary neighborhood. This was named Comet Hyakutake, after
its discoverer, Yuji Hyakutake (the name Hyakutake, pronounced
"hi-yah-koo-tah-kee", means "a hundred samurai") of Kagoshima, Japan. He
was using 25 X 150 binoculars, when he spotted the wandering ice-ball. This
comet has been near Earth before, but roughly 3600 years ago. It is due to
come back this way again, but none of us will be around to see it.
Now, astronomers
are once again expecting a spectacular show, when the returning comet Hale-Bopp,
lights up our skies. It was discovered simultaneously, yet independently,
by two amateur astronomers. One discoverer, Dr. Alan Hale, was in New Mexico,
while the other, Thomas Bopp, was in Arizona. Both of the discoverers
are amateurs, but this is not their first comet discovery; they've each
discovered comets independently as well. The fact is, most comets today are
discovered by amateur astronomers.
This is a photograph that I took of Comet Hyakutake, when it was at it's
closest point to Earth, approximately 9 million miles distant. The picture
on the left, is what it actually looked like, to the naked eye. No special
equipment was needed to see it. The picture on the right, has been altered,
to help show scale. I've exaggerated the stars of the Big Dipper, which are
visible in the photo on the left. If you were to go outside and look at the
Big Dipper, you would have a pretty good idea of how large this comet appeared
in our skies. Many people stayed in the city to see the comet, and were
disappointed to only be able to see a "fuzzy blob" in the sky. Away from
city lights, this is what a comet can look like.
You too may have an opportunity to see one of these
spectacular travelers! Currently, Hale-Bopp is appearing in our evening
twilight, clearly visible to the unaided eye. Since it is low
in the Northwestern sky, it's evening appearances are brief, for only about
an hour each clear night. Start looking for it near dusk. It
is the only thing thing in that part of the sky. And it is INCREDIBLY bright.
It doesn't look like anything else in the sky. It looks like
a comet, with a head and a tail. At it's closest approach, in April,
it will again be an early evening object. Below is a photo that
I took on March 10th, at 4:00am, local time...
The Moon will wash-out
the sky, making it harder to see, so the best moonless
predawn showings in the eastern sky will take place January
7th - 18th, February 4th - 18th, and March 6th - 20th. Then you
can look for it in the evening sky, an hour after sunset, when it will start
to get brighter and brighter. It is estimated to be at its brightest
on April 1st. The best moonless early evening viewing
times in the western sky will be between March 28th and April 10th,
and again from April 26th to May 9th.
Don't miss this opportunity!! You won't be able to see
this one again! The next time it passes within view, you may not be
here, because that won't be for another several thousand years! If
you'd like to learn more about Comet Hale-Bopp, and when and where to find
it, click
here to
jump to a webpage that will give you facts, and address questions like: "Will
this comet collide with Earth?" (NO! IT WILL NOT!!), "How do I find
it?", and it many others... You can also follow their links to images
of Comet Hale-Bopp, as well as other comets.
The Los Angeles Sidewalk Astronomers will be at the Griffith
Park Observatory, along with other astronomy clubs, for public viewing of
the comet. Check out our calendar of events
page in the days and weeks to come, for dates and times. For a chart
of where to look for Hale-Bopp, click
here
to go to ASTRONOMY magazine's website, for
a thorough finder chart.
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