This page contains all you ever wanted to know about Comet Hale-Bopp and then some, updated daily.
The Hale-Bopp Comet Page
written and compiled by Bill Drennon
for students of Central Valley Christian High School
Latitude: 36o 19.185'N Longitude: 119o 21.086'W
Visalia, CA USA
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalm 19:1)
Click here to see my Kepler's Law page which explains the motion of comets...complete with animation
**Days since perihelion rounded to nearest day
Space scientists from NASA and the European Space Agency predict that the ion tail of
Comet Hale-Bopp will be particularly susceptible to the solar wind's influence between
April 28th and May 15th. They say the blue- colored tail could show brightness changes,
kinks, and perhaps moving structures. Also possible are "disconnection events," when the
ion tail breaks off from the comet's coma and reforms a few hours later. Scientists have
issued this "tail watch" because the comet is now within 10 degrees of the plane of the
solar equator. In this region the outflowing solar wind is gusty and the magnetic field
irregular. When the plane is crossed on May 3rd, the direction of the interplanetary magnetic
field will change. Amateur astronomers are encouraged to monitor the tail's appearance
carefully during this period. Interested observers can access the comet watch home page by clicking
HERE
A third tail (Sodium Tail) Is Discovered
Hale-Bopp is the first comet to show a straight tail of sodium atoms 6 degrees long ( 600,000 km wide and 50 million km long sodium tail) found near the ion tail.
Looking Forward to Comet Hale Bopp
(NOTE:"Current Data" for May 5, 1997 UT. AU= astronomical unit. 1.000 AU = average distance between the earth and sun[93 million miles 150 million km].)
Evening Viewing: Comet Hale-Bopp is now best seen in the evenings.
Comet viewing is soon to end. Since 3:14 AM Apr 1 UT, the comet has been fast moving away from the sun and the earth.
Although the viewing is still good, your viewing chances deminish each day with the distance. Do yourself a BIG favor.
Seek out a dark spot TONIGHT and see this comet. Since you won't physically be around 2700 years from now when it returns,
don't miss this chance!! The best very best viewing times now are between 8:30PM-10:00PM PDT.
Taking Photographs of Comet Hale-Bopp :
Film: Fuji Super G 800 ISO
f/stop: One less than smallest f/stop (2nd widest openning)
Smallest f/stop gives never gives as clear a picture as the 2nd smallest.
Exposure time:Bracket several exposures Try 20 sec, 30 sec, 40 sec, 60 sec, 1.5 min
Lens: 50 mm gives 42 degree angle of sky.
Comet tail can take up 20 degrees in long exposure even though you only see a few degrees with naked eye.
Telephoto lens will fill up picture with larger percentage of comet, but camera shake is larger problem + larger f/stop.
Helpful Hints:
- Use tripod or place camera against something firm, like roof of house, stone wall, etc.
- Place black paper in front of lens before pushing shutter button, then remove paper to reduce camera vibration effect.
- Avoid other lights. Take picture when moon is down, away from city lights.
- When using small lens, angle camera so distant object can be placed in foreground to avoid too much black sky.
- If possible use cable to release shutter.
- If you have filters use a small cyan and yellow filter to reduce pink sky effect if near city lights.
- Start roll of film with a normal shot so photo developing machine won't cut your comet in half, not knowing where shots start!
- Take an entire roll of film on the comet, bracketing time exposures as recommended above.
- Take several exposures on each setting in case the "ideal" exposure experience camera shake.
- NO, A FLASH IS NOT USEFUL ON A COMET THAT IS AROUND 130,000,000 MILES AWAY!!
- Unless, you have a SLR camera that can take manual time exposures, forget taking pictures.
Some example exposures that worked: (atmosperic conditions and light polution, thus exposure, vary with location:
- 400 ISO f/4.o 60 sec
- 1600 ISO f/3.5 30 sec
- 800 ISO f/2.8 30 sec
Student/Teacher Images
Click the photo to see other places where our images have been published
and/or to find larger versions of the images.
Please email/write/call for permission to use these images.
- Visalia Times Delta May 2, 1997 Front Page Story about these images
 |
 |
 |
These three images were taken in the valley near Visalia, CA as a project for Physics class.
We exposed the pictures for 60 seconds at f/2.8 using Kodak ISO 1000 film. No flash was used.
The lighting of the basketball court came from moon light. The comet's lighting came from
sun light although the comet is over 150,000,000 miles away. Amazing!
Alicia deGroot and Kylene Compaan
seniors, Central Valley Christian High School
Visalia, CA USA
|
 |
 |
Comet Hale Bopp
by Juliana DeJong, student
Central Valley Christian High School
See comment below
Exposure of 50 seconds at f2.8 on Fuji ISO 1600 negative film from Mountains up from Visalia.
by Bill Drennon, teacher, Central Valley Christian High School |
|
| "I sat the camera on a sack of flour on a car hood. I placed a bag of sugar over the button to take the picture. This avoided camera shake! My picture was taken from the valley near Visalia. I used Kodak Gold film and took a time exposure of 30 seconds."
--Juliana DeJong, student CVCHS, Visalia, CA |
 |
 |
Comet Hale Bopp
by Josh Koelewyn (Hanford, CA), student
Central Valley Christian High School
See comment below
Exposure of 30 seconds at f2.0 on Fuji ISO 1600 negative film from Lake Kaweah, near Visalia.
by Bill Drennon, teacher, Central Valley Christian High School |
|
"I took this picture at my Grandad's farm here in the valley. I used Fuji 800 film for 30 seconds at f/2.8 with a 50 mm lens."
--Josh Koelewyn, Hanford, CA, student CVCHS |
 |
We borrowed our physics teacher's Cannon camera with 50mm lens, loaded with
Fuji ISO 400, and headed up a mountain east of Visalia to film comet
Hale-Bopp. Arriving at 8:00PM PDT on April 9, we waited....and
waited....and waited, but the sky was covered with clouds. Demoralized, we
reluctantly headed back down the mountain around 11PM PDT. Rounding a bend,
our hearts jumped as we saw the comet peaking from a break in the clouds.
We pulled along the side of the road, rested the camera on the hood of our
car and shot this picture, counting 40 seconds for the exposure. A
policeman stopped and asked us what we were doing. When we told him that we
only stopped to take a time exposure of the comet, he shook his head and
said, "Now I have heard it all!"
David Rainbow and Joel Rietema, students, CVCHS. |
 |
 |
 |
The streak across the comet is an airplane in this 30 second exposure on Fuji ISO 400 film. What looks like a fly-by of Comet Hale-Bopp's head is really not. The plane is one mile away while the comet is 145 000 000 miles away!! These three shots were taken at Shaver Lake NE of Visalia, CA
Jarod Adair, Jason Brouwer, Josh Koelewyn
seniors, Central Valley Christian High School
|
What's all that fuzzy stuff around the comet?
Much of what makes up a comet are frozen gases, such as carbon monoxide.
When the comet is far from the sun, it is bitterly cold and the gases remain frozen.
However, when the comet approaches the sun, the radiation from the sun supplies energy,
helping the gases to rapidly sublimate (change directly from solid to gas).
This sublimation, by the way, illustrates a natural force called entropy, the
tendancy for matter to go from a state of order (solid crystals) to disorder (gas).
The gas and dust particles released from the comet reflect light, as does the central core of the comet.
The light of a comet differs from a star in that comets do not produce their own light. What you see
is reflected light from the sun. When you view stars through a telescope, they become brighter, but not larger.
When you view a comet through binoculars or a telescope it becomes brighter and larger. You also see more of the tail
due to this magnifying and brightening effect! The color shift in the "tail", picked up in some photos (such as the one above),
is due to diffraction of light. The blue tail is the ION TAIL made up
of plasma (the sublimated gasses that have had electrons knocked off by the sun's energy).
The other tail is the DUST TAIL made up of gasses that have sublimated (gone directly from solid to gas
....like dry ice) releasing dust particles that were trapped in the frozen gas. The dust tail is the
brighter of the two tails.
| NOTICE! |
|---|
| On March 23, we saw Comet Hale-Bopp,
the planet Mars and a lunar eclipse in a single evening.
The 92% eclipse (last one of the millenium) began at 5:41 p.m.PST, peaked at 8:39 PM and ended at 11:38 p.m. PST.
Next lunar eclipse = Jan 20, 2002 !
We had organized comet observations every night in April.
|
Comet Hale-Bopp 1997 Timeline
The Great Comets of the 20th Century
Great Comets in the 20th century
| Year | Name | Max.
Brightness in a dark sky |
|---|
| 1910 | Great January Comet | 1-2 |
| 1910 | Halley | 0-1 |
| 1927 | Skjellerup-Maristany | 1 |
| 1965 | Ikeya-Seki | 2 |
| 1970 | Bennett | 0-1 |
| 1976 | West | 0 |
| 1996 | Hyakutake | 0 |
| 1997 | Hale-Bopp | -0.4 to -1.2 |
Remember the smaller the number, the brighter the comet!!
[The brightness of stars is also expressed in magnitudes.
The smaller the magnitude, the brighter the object.
The brightest star in the sky, Sirius, is magnitude -1.5.
Polaris, the pole star is about magnitude 2. Jupiter is about -2,
and the faintest stars that can typically be seen with the naked eye
(in very dark skies away from the city) are roughly magnitude 6-7.
In contrast, the full Moon is about magnitude -13 and the Sun is
approximately -26! A one magnitude change amounts to a factor of 2.5
in brightness. A five magnitude change is a factor of 100 in brightness.]
How can you project a -0.7 to -2.0 brightness for Hale-Bopp?
Well, you look at the light curve data and tell me what you think.
Zero on the horizontal axis stands for the perihelion distance (closest to sun, Apr 1).
It looks like the curve will settle somewhere between -0.7 and -0.2. In otherwords,
this will likely be the century's brightest comet.
Data retrieved from http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/icq/CometMags.htmlICQ/CBAT: Recent Comet Magnitudes
Outlook
At present it looks as though Comet Hale-Bopp will be a -0.7 to -2.0 brightness comet
....which is VERY bright as smaller numbers mean brighter celestial objects.
Early February was a great time for viewing during the new moon for anyone with a good predawn view to the east. (See map below.)
Right now the tail looks small, because the comet is heading right
towards us and the tail is behind it. The tail should eventually be spectacular, though not as large as Hyakutake (last spring).
Hyakutake came much closer to earth (0.2 AU) than Hale-Bopp will (1.3 AU), even though Hale-Bopp is a larger and brighter comet.
April 1, 1997 may be the best day of all....so one might call this the April Fools Comet!
To say this is a once in a life time experience would be an understatement.
The original comet's period was 4200 years. However, after exiting our solar system this time,
thanks to interaction with the Sun's and its planet's gravities, it will pick up speed, returning again in just 2380 years, Lord willing.
Don't miss this one. The CVC telescope will be aimed at this comet in
March and early April. Stay tuned for times.
The following chart shows how to find Comet Hale-Bopp from Visalia, CA after twilight, looking NW in March/April:
Obtain a printout of locating comet from Visalia, CA Shows a daily chart on how to find the comet.
Obtain a printout of where to find the comet from your location from you tax dollars to the US Navy
What is a Comet?
A comet is an extra-large frozen dirty snowball
traveling at great speed in a super-long elliptical orbit about the sun. As it approaches the sun, the
dirty snowball begins to come apart releasing dust and vapor. Much of this dust and vapor is
ionized by the sun's strong energy. It is then repulsed away from the sun, forming the tail of the
comet. The tail never trails the comet. It actually shoots out perpendicular from the path of the
comet.
How was Hale-Bopp Discovered?
| A letter from Tom Bopp with greetings to CVC students |
|---|
Dear Bill;
Just a short note to tell you how much I like your comet
page,and let you know of my faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. The night of
My discovery,July 23rd UT. as my friend Jim Stevens and I were observing
some NGC, and Messier objects,I was looking at the Lagoon and Trifid
nebulas and praising God for His beautiful Creation. A short time later
as we were working our way through the globular star clusters in
Saggitarius when I was observing M70 letting it drift across the field,
and that fuzzy little object known as Comet Hale-Bopp drifted into
view.So I know that Isaiah 40:26 has special meaning for me.
Give my best to the students at Central Valley Christian School,enjoy
the comet and may the Lord Bless all of You.
Your Brother in Christ,
Tom Bopp
|
Lift up your eyes on high.
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them by name,
By the greatest of His Might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.
Isaiah 40:26 NKJV
|
|---|
What will become of Hale-Bopp
Comet Hale-Bopp's orbit will change somewhat during the
present passage, decreasing from
approximately 4206 years to just under 2380 years. This effect is due
to the gravitational attraction by the planets and sun, typical for
long-period comets.
When the Comet is sufficiently far out in the solar system
the attraction from the individual planets is miniscule. At that point,
its orbit will have become an extremely elongated ellipse
with a semi-major axis of 180 AU (27,000 million km).
The aphelion (furthest point of orbit from sun) will be reached
in the year 3200. At that time, Comet Hale-Bopp will be approximately 360 AU
(54,000 million km) from the Sun which is around 9 times farther out than the mean
distance of planet Pluto.
Since according to Keplers Laws, a line from the sun to an orbiting body
will sweep out equal areas in equal time periods, the Comet will decrease its velocity as it moves outwards in this orbit.
Just over two decades from now, in the beginning of the year 2020, it will be 43 AU from the Sun and, assuming a diameter of approximately 20 km, the apparent magnitude of the nucleus will be around 29-30 (2,500 million times fainter than what may be perceived with the unaided eye).
Is There Life On A Comet?
If you mean by life, organic life made up of Carbon chains and replicated through DNA,
then the answer is most likely, "NO!" No life on that frozen dirty snowball. If you are
disapointed and really want life on the comet, I guess there is one way to make a case for
life there. One could say that life exists on comets in the same way that there
is life in all reaches of the universe....if one believes in a creator God who is omnipresent.
If one accepts this primice from the Bible, one could make the case that the path of this comet is
governed by God's divine order just as the entire space-time universe
is governed by a divine order. Christians, for example, believe in a living God who is the
Lord of all reality and speaks through scripture and his creation. His natural revelation is even more impressive when we extended
into the far reaches of space....albeit even this comet's path does not extend that deeply into
space. But DNA life? Don't put your money on it.
How Does the Orbit of a Comet Differ From the Orbit of the
Planets?
The planets and comets all travel in an ellipse with the sun as one foci.
However, for the planets the two foci are very close together. That is, their orbits are almost
circular. Also, the planets orbit the sun on more-or-less the same plane. (Pluto is somewhat of an
exception with an orbit slightly bent from the plane of the other planets and slightly more
elongated.) However, most comets, including Hyakutake (of last spring) and Hale-Bopp (coming this spring)
have elliptical orbits of enormous size, shaped more like a
hotdog than a circle. The foci of these comets are
far apart. The plane of Hyakutake's orbit intersected the planetary orbit plane at a steep angle. [See
the map on the link below.] The plane of Hale-Bopp is nearly perpedicular to the plane of earth's orbit.
The plane of this comets orbit is about perpendicular to the plane of earth's orbit.
Heavan's Gate Tragedy
Whenever an unusual celestial event comes about like Hale-Bopp, there will be perversions of both science and religion.
The Heavan's gate tragedy is one of the worst examples. It was terrible and misguided. Natural disasters occur somewhere on earth with regularity. Great things happen, too.
It is dubious and dangerous to think this comet had anything to do with natural phenomena on earth other than a minute interchange of gravitational force.
I enclose the following exerpt from a recent email that contains a link to this misguided cult's web page:
Good web site, will you now put a link on the page, referring to the heavens
gate tragedy?
This would be a good idea, especially in light of the fact that this group
was founded on lies from satan himself, given that they claimed that Jesus
was an ALIEN from a higher plain, etc.
They took the gospel, and perverted it all the way down the line!
Glad to see a christian hale bopp site! ...You have probably seen this already, here is a LINK to the cults web site:
Heaven's
Gate - How and When It May Be Entered
In His grace......... CdKinch@aol.com
Some Good Comet Links of Hale-Bopp and past comets
Brad Wallis' Hale-Bopp Animation (Way Cool!!)
See the comet's rotation!
NASA'a Near-Live Comet Watching System
provides amateur astronomers a way to post their pictures of Comet
Hale-Bopp on the Web.
Topi K. Tuomi's Comet Hale-Bopp Page
An excellent page on Comet Hale-Bopp from my home state of Georgia. Topi, from Finland,
has an excellent sense of humor, great photography, and comet data well presented. A MUST SEE page that few have seen!! Also, Savannah is near our latitude.
Comet Hale-Bopp
Fast mirror site
Hale-Bopp Comet is the next potentially bright comet to be seen on earth (1997). This comet was
first spotted near Jupiter on July 23, 1995. It's closest approach to earth will be on March 22, 1997.
It could be more spectacular than Hyakutake...or it
could be a dud. At present, it appears to be a rather large comet. Go to this NASA sight for additional info.
Distant Sun's Hale-Bopp Tracker
Get this neat demo software from Mike Smithwick!
http://www.halebopp.com
A site with more
good information on Comet Hale-Bopp, including information by Alan Hale.
Current Comets
This page provides information on how to find ten comets that are out there for your viewing right now.
Planets
Out of this world site to pick up NASA's planet pictures. Your tax dollars at
work! NEW LOCATION
Star Child Project
Interested in astronomy? Go to this NASA site! Great images, easy reading, and packed full of
information.
Comet Hale-Bopp (Bob Franke's page)
More excellent information and links on Comet Hale-Bopp
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Science Web
Go here to find Comet Hale-Bopp sites written by students and teachers.
The Satellite
Encyclopedia
What satellites are up there now,
what do they do, and where are they?
What was the path of Hyakutake?
Hyakutake Radar
The first radar data to come from a comet
See an Infrared photo of Hyakutake
This infrared view gives a different view than could be seen with visible light.
Click to Photo of Comet Hyakutake at closest approach to earth, March 25, 1996
Click here to see a Black and White Photo of Hyakutake. Our eyes saw the comet like this because they can
not see color in dim light.
What Really Happened to Appolo 13
Account of Appolo 13 in the words of Jerry Woodfill, Alarm System Engineer, Apollo 13 Mission Operations Team
Since Jan 1, 1997, you have been visitor number
Thanks for your visit.
Return to top of page
Give feedback to Bill Drennon
Return to the Drennon Dolphin Web Surfer
