Comet Hale-Bopp

space · comets · astronomy

Super bright visitor. Hale-Bopp was so bright that people could see it without a telescope or binoculars for over a year, from May 1996 to December 1997. Millions of people around the world stopped to watch this icy snowball zoom through our solar system.

Two discoverers. The comet was named after Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp, two amateur astronomers who spotted it the same night in July 1995. They were observing the sky from different parts of the United States when they both noticed this new fuzzy object.

Long-period wanderer. Hale-Bopp takes about 2,533 years to orbit the sun once. This means the last time it was close to Earth was around 500 BCE, and it won't come back again until the year 4385.

Dusty ice ball. Comets are made of frozen water, rock, and dust. When Hale-Bopp got close to the sun, the heat turned some of its ice into gas, creating a huge glowing tail that stretched millions of miles through space.

Brightest in decades. Even though Hale-Bopp wasn't quite as bright as some historic comets, it was the brightest one seen in over 400 years, making it an unforgettable sight for millions of people.