It has traveled in space for 4200 years since its last visit. Drifting through the cold and silence of space. A chunk of rock and ice 40 km across, for over 90% of it's journey, it cannot even be seen from Earth. Its home is likely in the outback of the Solar System, well beyond the orbits of  the planets, so far away that the Sun is just another star in the sky. But now it is coming, Hale-Bopp, the comet that could be the comet of the century. February offers your first chance to see this visitor from a far distant place.

      Last year we were wow'd by Comet Hyakutake. Most everyone got to see the comet show. Hyakutake was bright, with a tail that stretched over 80° of sky. For many,  if not most, it was the first bright comet they had ever seen. It almost seemed too good to believe that there was another on its way, and that this one could be even brighter. We first heard about Hale-Bopp 18 months ago and perhaps some have forgotten since  a year can be a long time. But the waiting is over. Hale-Bopp is here!

      Comets are unpredictable things and sometime they can be astronomers worst nightmare. Hyakutake did not embarrass anyone, and there is hope that Hale-Bopp will give astronomers a 2 for 2. There does seem to be some disagreement among astronomers about just how bright the comet will be, but everyone seems to agree it will be a naked eye comet and a beautiful sight.

     So what is it that astronomers base their predictions on? Size is one thing, and Comet Hale-Bopp is big, in fact, it's gigantic! Most comets are about 1 to 10 km across. Hale-Bopp is 40 km! Sheer size alone should make it a bright comet by any standards. The comet was beyond the orbit of Jupiter when it was discovered, a large distance for discovery. At that point in its orbit, Hale-Bopp was over 250 times brighter than Comet Halley was at that distance.

      Distance from the Sun and Earth is another factor. Here, Hale-Bopp falls a bit short. This comet will be 10 times farther from Earth as Hyakutake was at its closest point. This may affect the show somewhat, but Brian Marsden, of the International Astronomical Union's Central Bureau believes that Hale-Bopp's sheer size will make up for the distance factor. Marsden believes that Hale-Bopp will be brighter than any star or planet in the sky.

       Brightness is not the  only consideration however, the length of the tail is another factor. When comets get close to the Sun they begin to release gasses that we see as a tail. Not all comets have tails, and the distance to the Sun dictates how much of a tail we will see. Visible dust tails tend to be more prominent for comets traveling inside Earths orbit, and at its closest approach on March 22, 1997, Hale-Bopp will be about 97 million miles (just over the distance from the Earth to the Sun) away.

      Not only is Hale-Bopp unpredictable, it is a very active comet. The comet began out-gassing last May and has done so at an increasing rate ever since. Unfortunately, Hale-Bopp will pass only 0.9 Astronomical Units from the Sun, much farther than Comet Hyakutake Still, Hale-Bopp
has  done some unpredictable things and there is reason to believe that the comet will put on an impressive show. Recent photos show the comet is displaying multiple tails and has in a few instances been described as a porcupine. The best advice is to get ready to spot the comet and enjoy.

      Currently Hale-Bopp is in the morning sky This month the comet reaches naked eye visibility. It can be seen in the morning sky in the constellation Cygnus. It reaches its highest elevation during February. Unfortunately it is traveling along the Milky Way and makes the tail hard to differentiate from the cloudy appearance of the Milky Way. On February 7th the comet rises a full 3 hours before he Sun and is a good time to get your first view of what may be the comet of the century!