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Comet Hale-Bopp

Posted by michael on from the things-to-do-in-space-when-you're-bored dept.

mindpixel writes "When Comet Hale-Bopp passed through the inner solar system in early 1997, it was admired in the sky by a substantial fraction of the world's population. Now ESO (European Southern Observatory) has imaged the comet at 2 billion kilometers." Hale-Bopp has a 4000-year period, so savor it while you can. :)

3 of 12 comments (clear)

  1. Hale-Bopp has a 4000-year period by billybob2001 · · Score: 2
    Hale-Bopp has a 4000-year period, so savor it while you can. :)

    That's gotta mean mighty bad PMS!

    Seriously, why do we need to see it again at such reduced quality when we saw it only 4 years ago?

  2. Aggghhh!!! Hanson by sjbe · · Score: 3
    Why does the name of this comet always bring a certain Hanson song to mind?

    Make it stop... please...

  3. 4000 Year Period... Sigh... by Bonker · · Score: 3

    When Haley's comet came around, I was about 13. I don't remember clearly seeing it. I remember seeing a group of stars, my dad pointing at them and saying "See, son! Haley's comet is right in that group there."

    Hale-Bopp, despite it's humorous name, was so unmistakanely an anomoly in the night sky, that it was pretty hard to miss. I remember staring at it with my new wife at the time and wondering just how far away it was. My 3 year old nephew just missed it, which is a damn shame, because I'm certain that even he could have picked it out from amoung the other glittering diamonds.

    4000 years until humanity gets that opportunity again. *Sigh...*

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