Comet Hale-Bopp was an unusually bright comet that flew by Earth, reaching its closest approach to the world in 1997. (Image credit: ESO) Comet Hale-Bopp is a long-period comet– defined as a comet with an orbital duration of longer than 200 years according to the Swinburne University of Technology. NASA studied the comet with the Hubble Space Telescope and reported that the comets nucleus is “big,” at 19 to 25 miles (30 to 40 km) across.What surprised the researchers observing Hale-Bopp the most was an outburst of dust streaming from the comets nucleus in amounts at least 8 times as much as the typical observations of formerly observed comets.
While they expected the comet would be intense when it showed up close to Earth, predictions are difficult when it comes to comets– they are basically simply balls of ice and dust that emerge in ways that are hard to expect. (Image credit: ESO) Comet Hale-Bopp is a long-period comet– specified as a comet with an orbital duration of longer than 200 years according to the Swinburne University of Technology. Hale-Bopp comet triggers internet traffic jamDuring Hale-Bopps months-long method to Earth, descriptions of the comet drummed up interest in papers and on the internet, which at the time was a young but growing public phenomenon. NASA studied the comet with the Hubble Space Telescope and reported that the comets nucleus is “huge,” at 19 to 25 miles (30 to 40 km) across.What surprised the researchers observing Hale-Bopp the most was an outburst of dust streaming from the comets nucleus in quantities at least eight times as much as the average observations of formerly observed comets. Rosettas research studies will assist scientists better make predictions about how bright comets will be.While amateurs still discover comets from time to time, the most respected observers tend to be automated spacecraft.
Additional resources If you would like to learn more about comet Hale-Bopp examine out this short article by the skywatching website Comet Watch. Check out comets in more information with this educational material from the Open University.
Examples of comets that have formerly passed by Earth and the predicted year they will return for another flyby.
CometYear of last visitYear of next visitHale-Bopp19974385Halleys Comet19862061Ikeya-Seki19653000Lovejoy20112633McNaught200795,000.