| Comet
Hale - Bopp was discovered in July 1995 by two American amateur astronomers Alan Hale
and Thomas Bopp, (‘Hale’ rhymes with ‘tale’ and ‘Bopp"
rhymes with ‘top’!) when it was beyond the orbit of Jupiter, using 16" and
17.5" telescopes respectively. Comets have never been discovered by small amateur
telescopes at such great distances before (over a 100 million kilometers). This meant that
Comet Hale- Bopp was very large in size, nearly 100 km in size, some six times larger than
comet Halley. Recent estimates have revised the size downward to 40 km. Still it is among
the largest comets known. Hale-Bopp, in March 1997, provided earthlings with a spectacular
view, probably the most spectacular comet in our lifetime. |
Alan Hale
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