Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation: Comet Hale-Bopp continues its slow trek across the night sky, and can now be seen superposed near the bright globular cluster M14. Will Comet Hale-Bopp become as bright in early 1997 as Comet Hyakutake did in early 1996? It is still too early to tell. Currently Hale-Bopp is curiously holding at about 5^th magnitude - just barely bright enough to see without binoculars from a dark location. Because of the size of coma, some speculate that the nucleus of Hale-Bopp is unusually large. The actual nucleus is obscured, however, and recent speculation includes that the nucleus is comparable in size to Comet Halley - about 10-15 km across.

January February March April May June July August September October November December

<  November 1996   > Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Publications with keywords: Comet Hale-Bopp
Publications with words: Comet Hale-Bopp
See also:

• Comet Hale-Bopp Over Val Parola Pass
• Comet Hale Bopp Over the Superstition Mountains
• Exploring Comet Tails
• The Comet and the Galaxy
• Comet Hale Bopp Over Val Parola Pass
• The Dust and Ion Tales of Comet Hale-Bopp
• Comet Hale Bopp and the North America Nebula

All publications on this topic >>