How Impressive Will Comet Hale-Bopp Become in 1997?
A very unusual comet was discovered last month, on its way from the outer reaches of the solar system towards the Sun. Although it is still situated beyond the orbit of Jupiter, it is so bright that it can be observed in even small telescopes. It has been named `Hale-Bopp’ after the discoverers and is already of great interest to cometary astronomers. No less than seven telescopes have been used at the ESO La Silla observatory for the first observations of the new object. Together with data gathered at other sites, their aim is to elucidate the nature of this comet and also to determine whether there is reason to hope that it will become a bright and beautiful object in the sky from late 1996 and well into 1997. Further observations are now being planned at ESO and elsewhere to monitor closely the behaviour of this celestial visitor during the coming months.
