Hale-Bopp in May 1997

Today's weather from WTOC-TV by Pat Prokop The Home Port of Topi Tuomi This Page in Finnish! Links to Hale-Bopp pages The Hale-Bopp Comet Page by Bill Drennon JPL - Ron Baalke JPL - Ron Baalke: HB Timeline - 1997 Other links - Ron Baalke JPL - Charles S. Morris Near-Live Comet Watching System (NASA) Gary W. Kronkg The Puckett Observatory Sky Online's Comet Page www. halebopp.com European Southern Observatory Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias Jyväskylän Sirius Dale Ireland Charles Boley Starwatch by Erich Landstrom Statesboro Astronomy Club Crni Vrh Observatory, Slovenia Image Gallery Click on the images below to see a larger version 50k jpg Comet Hale-Bopp on Jan 31, 1997, by Tim Puckett, Ellijay, GA 39k jpg Comet Hale-Bopp on Mar 07, 1997, by Andy Blackburn, Savannah, GA. In the dark spot (Clyo, GA) the stars and the comet look like gems in the sky! 36k jpg Comet Hale-Bopp on Mar 07, 1997, by Andy Blackburn, Savannah, GA. In the dark spot (Clyo, GA). 42k jpg Comet Hale-Bopp on Mar 07, 1997, by Andy Blackburn, Savannah, GA. In the dark spot (Clyo, GA). 35k jpg Comet Hale-Bopp on Mar 07, 1997, by Andy Blackburn, Savannah, GA. In the dark spot (Clyo, GA). 14k jpg Comet Hale-Bopp on Mar 09, 1997, by Topi Tuomi, Savannah, GA. Canon EOS Rebel X 35mm 1:4, Kodak Royal Gold 1000ASA, 2 minutes. The breaking dawn already paints the sky blue in the east. 29k jpg Comet Hale-Bopp and Tybee Lighthouse on March 17, 1997, by Topi Tuomi, Savannah, GA. Canon EOS Rebel X 35mm 1:4, Kodak Royal Gold 400ASA, 30 seconds. 91k jpg Comet Hyakutake on Mar 25, 1996, by Andy Blackburn, Savannah, GA. Hale-Bopp seems to be outperforming Hyakutake!		Comet Hale-Bopp in May, 1997. A view from Savannah, GA (32ºN, 81ºW) by Topi K. Tuomi Archive page; last update 6/6/1997 (Two months past perihelion) Hale-Bopp is now visible in southern hemisphere only. Hale-Bopp was observed the last time in the northern hemisphere around May 20th, when its magnitude was still about 1.4. Still fresh: Topi's Comet Hale-Bopp Slide Show and Andy's Comet Hale-Bopp Slide Show More observations and pictures of comet Hale-Bopp can be found on the February, March, and April archive pages. Backyard Astronomy will continue from where Hale-Bopp on this page fades away. Photographs of comet Hale-Bopp This is a photo by Andy Blackburn at Tybee Lighthouse on March 23, 1997. The lighthouse has no light because of a power failure at Tybee. Andy exposed Fuji 800ASA print color film for 30 seconds with his Olympus OM-1 camera using a 50mm/f1:1.8 lens. The 4"x6" paper print has been scanned with an HP Scanjet IIcx scanner, and prepared with PhotoFinish.
		The second photo was taken by Becky Lowder on April 2nd in Statesboro, GA. Is it really that much darker in Statesboro than in Savannah? Becky used a 50mm lens at f/2.8 and exposed Kodak Gold 400 film for 35 seconds. - Be sure to visit Statesboro Astronomy Club website, maintained by Becky, for more pictures.
		The third photo was taken by Philip Neidlinger. He used my camera to catch me looking at comet Hale-Bopp in Clyo, GA, on March 16 at daybreak. The bright object in the picture is planet Jupiter, just risen in the east. Jupiter is now (in May) a "morning star" rising couple of hours after midnight, but will be in the evening sky later this summer and fall.
		The fourth photo was also taken by Philip Neidlinger. He used a 135mm f/2.8 lens in his Olympus OM-2 camera, and exposed Fuji 800ASA film for 120 seconds. The picture was taken near Mighty 8th Air Force Museum, just west of Savannah, on March 27, 1997. This is Philip's best picture of comet Hale-Bopp, and you can find it on Philip's Astrophotography Page as well.
		Photo 5 was taken by myself on April 2nd on my home street in Wilmington Island, just east of Savannah. I used my camera, Canon EOS Rebel X S, with zoom settings 35mm/1:4 and film Kodak Gold 400ASA. Exposure time 30 seconds.
		Photo 6 was taken by Gil Stacy from Savannah on March 16, 1997, in Ft. Stewart, GA. He used his Nikon with a 50mm f1.4 Nikkor stopped at f2.0. Fuji 800ASA film was exposed for 40 seconds. The tall trees are called Bald Cypress.
		These months are very interesting in astronomical sense. Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp), discovered over a year and half ago on the same night by two astronomers, Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp, made its closest approach to Earth on March 22nd, and was closest to the Sun (in perihelion) on April first. It used to be a very bright object first on the morning sky, and later on the evening sky. Since the beginning of January the comet was visible in the east before the morning twilight, but moved to the evening sky in late March and early April. In the evening sky it was visible in the northwest after the evening twilight, until about 11pm., and was best seen from 8:30 to 10:30pm. The comet was a beautiful naked eye sight, as my photograph on the right shows. This photo was taken in the evening twilight of April 7th. The lighthouse is located on Tybee Island 20 miles east of Savannah. If you click this picture, you'll see a larger (800x600 pix) version of another picture, which you can set as a wallpaper for Windows95 by clicking it by the right mouse button and selecting 'Set As Wallpaper'. The comet/lighthouse picture from March 17th with its hi-res wallpaper companion can still be found on the March archive page. How to locate comet Hale-Bopp in the evening sky: Sorry, folks, but it's too late now to see the comet! The last observation of the comet in the U.S. to my knowledge was on May 20th. Dale Ireland has a good comet locator map for May and June on his comet page, if you want to see where the comet is heading. According to U.S. Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department calculations of comet Hale-Bopp positions, the comet was only 6.7 degrees above the western horizon at the end of astronomical twilight on May 9th, and 5.7 degrees on May 10th. So, in the following week it was really time to say good-bye to a dear friend: come back soon (in 2300 years)... 1997 observations of comet Hale-Bopp in Savannah, GA February archive page March archive page April archive page Tuesday, May 06, 1997 Comet Hale-Bopp has been visible probably every night since the beginning of May, if you just went out and looked. It's visible from dusk (8:45pm) until about 10pm; tonight I checked it around 9:30, and it was fairly well visible in the western sky, although the tail was not visible with naked eye. Even with binoculars the tail wasn't too impressive, partly because the comet was low and in the middle of the city light pollution. Saturday, May 10, 1997 I went to Wilmington Park dock to check the visibility of Hale-Bopp. The evening was cool and enjoyable; I observed one mosquito but no gnats in twenty minutes! The comet showed up at 9:10pm, despite some high clouds and smoke and light pollution. It was about 12 degrees above the western horizon, and probably set around 10pm. Wednesday, May 14, 1997 I decided to go to Tybee road to check the comet one more time. I got there a bit late, but was still able to see it with the binoculars about 9:30pm, despite the bright half moon and the city light pollution in the direction of the comet. Friday, May 16, 1997 Now it's a question of days only, when we'll see comet Hale-Bopp the last time in Savannah. Today I drove to Fort Pulaski bridge to get as far as possible from the city light pollution. Hale-Bopp was still visible with naked eye, although just barely, in the western sky in the middle of the worst light pollution around here. At 9:15pm the comet was about 7 degrees above the western horizon, so it probably set about 9:45pm. Saturday, May 17, 1997 I was invited with my wife to join our friends a couple of blocks away for a cup of coffee and a glass of wine. When we were sitting at their backyard patio, the night fell, and I was worried for not being able to check our dear friend Hale-Bopp. Then I remembered that the sun had just been shining between the trees, and decided to check the view to the west from their backyard. And lo and behold! There was the comet in the middle of a small opening between the trees in the west! Our friends even had a fine pair of 7x50 binoculars, and we all enjoyed the very last view of the comet. Friday, May 23, 1997 I spent five days in Philadelphia, PA, on a computer course. The place was so far north, that the nights were light until very late in the evening, and there was no hope to see the comet there. After returning home tonight I went with my wife to the community dock to check the visibility of Hale-Bopp, but because of the conditions (high clouds, dirty atmosphere, and light pollution in the western sky) there was no hope to see it. The observation of the comet last Saturday was my last one! Friday, June 06, 1997 Hale-Bopp has been out of view for about three weeks even here at the 32. parallel, and I have had even time to surf the net. One of the most rewarding pages for those interested in space exploration and astronomy is Nasa's site Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive, which now has over 700 very high quality astronomy pictures with explanations written by experts. Every page has plenty of links to other relevant pages. By the way, here in the south we'll have one more chance to see Hale-Bopp as Glenn Ray's page tells us. According to him the comet will be visible in southeast around October south of 35th parallel. It's possible, that the comet could then still be a naked-eye object. Orbit and brightness development of comet Hale-Bopp The following values are mostly from the Orbit and Ephemeris Information by Don Yeomans. This table is greatly simplified; if you want to see more data, please refer to the original table. The distances of the comet from Earth and Sun are in Astronomical Units (AU=the mean distance Earth/Sun). Tmag1 is the prediction in the original tables (01/19/97 & 03/03/97), and Tmag2 is the actual observed values from Charles Morris (smallest/average/biggest m1 estimate). The comet reached its greatest brightness on the last days of March, and it was near magnitude -0.8. On June 1st both observed values were 2.0, which was somewhat brighter than the predicted value 2.2. Table 1. Selected Ephemeris Values for Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. Date R.A. Distance from #of (UT) J2000 Decl. Earth Sun TMag1 Tmag2 obs Feb 01 19 40 +15 28 2.004 1.368 2.5 2.1/2.30/2.9 11 Feb 02 19 42 +15 57 1.985 1.356 2.5 2.0/2.27/2.8 14 Feb 03 19 45 +16 27 1.965 1.344 2.4 1.8/2.10/2.4 10 Feb 04 19 48 +16 57 1.945 1.332 2.4 1.8/2.08/2.5 9 Feb 05 19 50 +17 29 1.925 1.320 2.3 1.7/1.90/2.1 9 Feb 06 19 53 +18 00 1.906 1.309 2.3 1.7/1.94/2.5 14 Feb 07 19 56 +18 33 1.886 1.297 2.2 1.4/1.79/2.4 13 Feb 08 19 58 +19 06 1.866 1.286 2.2 1.6/1.81/2.1 12 Feb 09 20 01 +19 40 1.846 1.274 2.1 1.3/1.68/2.4 24 Feb 10 20 04 +20 14 1.827 1.263 2.1 1.4/1.69/2.2 20 Feb 11 20 07 +20 50 1.807 1.251 2.0 1.3/1.70/2.2 20 Feb 12 20 10 +21 26 1.788 1.240 2.0 1.3/1.58/2.2 14 Feb 13 20 14 +22 02 1.769 1.229 1.9 1.3/1.52/1.9 17 Feb 14 20 17 +22 40 1.749 1.218 1.9 1.2/1.48/1.8 10 Feb 15 20 20 +23 18 1.730 1.207 1.8 1.1/1.34/1.8 18 Feb 16 20 24 +23 57 1.711 1.196 1.8 1.0/1.31/1.8 23 Feb 17 20 28 +24 36 1.693 1.186 1.7 1.1/1.36/2.0 12 Feb 18 20 31 +25 17 1.674 1.175 1.6 1.1/1.25/1.8 11 Feb 19 20 35 +25 58 1.656 1.164 1.6 1.0/1.18/1.4 22 Feb 20 20 39 +26 39 1.638 1.154 1.5 0.8/1.07/1.4 21 Feb 21 20 43 +27 21 1.620 1.144 1.5 0.9/1.12/1.5 13 Feb 22 20 47 +28 04 1.602 1.134 1.4 0.8/1.10/1.3 9 Feb 23 20 52 +28 48 1.585 1.124 1.4 0.7/1.01/1.2 22 Feb 24 20 56 +29 32 1.568 1.114 1.3 0.7/0.93/1.1 14 Feb 25 21 01 +30 16 1.552 1.104 1.3 0.6/0.94/1.3 21 Feb 26 21 06 +31 01 1.535 1.095 1.2 0.6/0.92/1.2 15 Feb 27 21 11 +31 46 1.519 1.086 1.2 0.7/0.82/1.0 10 Feb 28 21 16 +32 31 1.504 1.076 1.1 0.5/0.88/1.5 14 - Corrected ephemeris values by Don Yeomans - Mar 1 21 21 +33 17 1.489 1.067 0.7 0.4/0.69/1.2 12 Mar 2 21 27 +34 02 1.474 1.059 0.6 0.2/0.52/1.1 20 Mar 3 21 33 +34 48 1.460 1.050 0.6 0.2/0.54/1.0 19 Mar 4 21 39 +35 33 1.447 1.042 0.5 0.2/0.36/1.0 12 Mar 5 21 45 +36 19 1.434 1.033 0.5 0.1/0.28/0.5 13 Mar 6 21 52 +37 03 1.421 1.025 0.4 -.1/0.19/0.5 14 Mar 7 21 58 +37 47 1.409 1.018 0.4 -.1/0.04/0.2 19 Mar 8 22 05 +38 31 1.398 1.010 0.4 -.4/-.11/0.3 13 Mar 9 22 13 +39 13 1.387 1.003 0.3 -.4/-.05/0.3 28 Mar 10 22 20 +39 55 1.378 .996 0.3 -.4/-.15/0.1 15 Mar 11 22 28 +40 35 1.368 .989 0.2 -.4/-.19/0.3 18 Mar 12 22 36 +41 14 1.360 .982 0.2 -.6/-.24/0.0 16 Mar 13 22 44 +41 51 1.352 .976 0.2 -.6/-.29/0.3 14 Mar 14 22 53 +42 26 1.344 .970 0.1 -.7/-.45/-.1 11 - Corrected ephemeris values by Don Yeomans - Mar 15 23 02 +42 58 1.338 .964 -.5 -.5/-.28/0.1 5 Mar 16 23 11 +43 29 1.332 .959 -.6 -.9/-.47/0.0 13 Mar 17 23 20 +43 57 1.328 .953 -.6 -.9/-.47/0.0 13 Mar 18 23 29 +44 22 1.323 .949 -.6 -.7/-.57/-.3 9 Mar 19 23 39 +44 44 1.320 .944 -.6 -.8/-.60/-.3 12 Mar 20 23 49 +45 04 1.318 .940 -.7 -.8/-.58/-.3 9 Mar 21 23 58 +45 20 1.316 .936 -.7 -1.0/-.61/-.3 12 Mar 22 00 08 +45 32 1.315* .932 -.7 -1.0/-.59/-.3 8 Mar 23 00 19 +45 42 1.315 .929 -.7 -1.0/-.54/-.2 10 Mar 24 00 29 +45 48 1.316 .926 -.7 -1.0/-.61/0.1 10 Mar 25 00 39 +45 50* 1.318 .923 -.7 -1.2/-.74/-.3 9 Mar 26 00 49 +45 49 1.320 .921 -.8 -1.3/-.78/-.5 9 Mar 27 00 59 +45 44 1.323 .919 -.8* -1.1/-.79/-.4 14 Mar 28 01 09 +45 36 1.327 .917 -.8 -1.3/-.80/-.3 19 Mar 29 01 19 +45 25 1.332 .916 -.8 -1.1/-.75/-.5 6 Mar 30 01 28 +45 10 1.338 .915 -.8 -1.8/-.80/-.5 10 Mar 31 01 38 +44 53 1.344 .914 -.7 -1.1/-.82/-.4 10 Apr 1 01 47 +44 33 1.351 .914 -.7 -1.2/-.79/-.4 15 Apr 2 01 56 +44 10 1.359 .914 -.7 -1.0/-.66/-.3 13 Apr 3 02 05 +43 45 1.367 .915 -.7 -1.1/-.68/-.3 12 Apr 4 02 13 +43 17 1.376 .916 -.7 -.9/-.61/-.2 7 Apr 5 02 22 +42 47 1.385 .917 -.7 -1.3/-.65/-.3 11 Apr 6 02 30 +42 16 1.396 .918 -.6 -.7/-.50/-.2 12 Apr 7 02 38 +41 43 1.406 .920 -.6 -.7/-.53/-.3 6 Apr 8 02 45 +41 08 1.418 .922 -.6 -.9/-.54/-.1 11 Apr 9 02 52 +40 32 1.430 .925 -.6 -.7/-.55/-.2 6 Apr 10 02 59 +39 55 1.442 .928 -.5 -1.0/-.55/-.2 13 Apr 11 03 06 +39 17 1.455 .931 -.5 -.8/-.48/-.2 5 Apr 12 03 13 +38 38 1.468 .935 -.5 -.6/-.43/-.2 7 Apr 13 03 19 +37 58 1.482 .938 -.4 -.7/-.44/-.2 7 Apr 14 03 25 +37 18 1.496 .943 -.4 -.6/-.50/-.3 6 Apr 15 03 31 +36 38 1.510 .947 -.3 -.8/-.37/0.1 10 Apr 16 03 36 +35 57 1.525 .952 -.3 -.6/-.31/-.1 9 Apr 17 03 42 +35 16 1.540 .957 -.3 -.4/-.07/0.4 6 Apr 18 03 47 +34 35 1.555 .962 -.2 -.4/-.26/-.1 5 Apr 19 03 52 +33 54 1.571 .968 -.2 -.3/-.02/0.8 5 Apr 20 03 57 +33 13 1.586 .974 -.1 -.8/-.26/0.0 8 Apr 21 04 02 +32 32 1.602 .980 -.1 -.2/-.08/0.0 5 Apr 22 04 06 +31 51 1.619 .987 .0 -.2/-.08/0.3 4 Apr 23 04 10 +31 11 1.635 .994 .0 -.4/-.11/0.2 7 Apr 24 04 15 +30 31 1.651 1.001 .1 -.1/0.04/0.2 8 Apr 25 04 19 +29 51 1.668 1.008 .1 -.3/-.09/0.3 9 Apr 26 04 23 +29 12 1.685 1.015 .2 -.3/0.01/0.7 13 Apr 27 04 26 +28 32 1.702 1.023 .3 -.1/0.16/0.7 10 Apr 28 04 30 +27 54 1.719 1.031 .3 -.3/-.05/0.0 6 Apr 29 04 34 +27 15 1.736 1.039 .4 0.0/0.10/0.4 7 Apr 30 04 37 +26 37 1.753 1.047 .4 0.0/0.30/1.0 9 May 1 04 40 +26 00 1.770 1.056 .5 -.3/0.21/0.6 10 May 2 04 44 +25 23 1.787 1.065 .5 0.0/0.13/0.4 3 May 3 04 47 +24 46 1.804 1.074 .6 0.0/0.22/0.5 6 May 4 04 50 +24 10 1.822 1.083 .6 0.1/0.18/0.4 5 May 5 04 53 +23 35 1.839 1.092 .7 0.2/0.39/1.2 8 May 6 04 56 +23 00 1.856 1.102 .8 0.2/0.33/0.4 3 May 7 04 59 +22 25 1.873 1.111 .8 0.2/0.63/1.4 9 May 8 05 01 +21 51 1.890 1.121 .9 0.3/0.66/1.1 7 May 9 05 04 +21 17 1.907 1.131 .9 0.0/0.54/1.1 10 May 10 05 07 +20 44 1.924 1.141 1.0 0.5/0.64/1.0 7 May 11 05 09 +20 11 1.941 1.151 1.1 0.5/0.74/1.5 5 May 12 05 12 +19 38 1.958 1.161 1.1 0.5/1.01/1.9 7 May 13 05 14 +19 06 1.975 1.172 1.2 0.7/0.73/0.8 3 May 14 05 17 +18 34 1.992 1.182 1.2 0.7/0.73/0.8 3 May 15 05 19 +18 03 2.008 1.193 1.3 0.8/0.98/1.2 4 May 16 05 22 +17 32 2.025 1.204 1.3 0.9/0.90/0.9 2 May 17 05 24 +17 02 2.041 1.215 1.4 1.0/1.03/1.1 4 May 18 05 26 +16 32 2.057 1.226 1.5 0 May 19 05 28 +16 02 2.074 1.237 1.5 1.2/1.30/1.5 6 May 20 05 30 +15 33 2.090 1.248 1.6 1.3/1.40/1.5 2 May 21 05 33 +15 04 2.106 1.259 1.6 2.0/2.00/2.0 2 May 22 05 35 +14 35 2.121 1.271 1.7 1.4/1.53/1.6 3 May 23 05 37 +14 07 2.137 1.282 1.7 1.6/1.60/1.6 1 May 24 05 39 +13 39 2.153 1.294 1.8 0 May 25 05 41 +13 11 2.168 1.305 1.8 1.3/1.67/1.9 3 May 26 05 43 +12 43 2.183 1.317 1.9 1.3/1.50/1.7 2 May 27 05 45 +12 16 2.199 1.329 1.9 1.3/1.73/2.0 3 May 28 05 47 +11 49 2.214 1.340 2.0 1.6/1.70/1.8 2 May 29 05 48 +11 23 2.228 1.352 2.1 1.6/1.67/1.8 3 May 30 05 50 +10 56 2.243 1.364 2.1 1.6/1.80/2.0 4 May 31 05 52 +10 30 2.258 1.376 2.2 1.5/1.60/1.7 2 Jun 1 05 54 +10 04 2.272 1.388 2.2 2.0/2.00/2.0 2 Since the comet is now visible from the southern hemisphere only, this table will no more be updated. Please refer to the Recent News and Observations page of Charles Morris for continuing updates. Table 2. "Average" Atmospheric Extinction in Magnitudes for Sea Level (z=degrees from zenith, h=degrees from horizon) z ext. h 0 0.3 90 (zenith) 10 0.3 80 20 0.3 70 30 0.3 60 40 0.4 50 45 0.4 45 50 0.4 40 55 0.5 35 For example, an object 35º above 60 0.6 30 the horizon looses 0.5 magnitudes 65 0.7 25 because of the atmospheric 70 0.8 20 extinction, but an object only 6º 75 1.1 15 above horizon looses 2.5 magnitudes. 80 1.6 10 Thus, if a comet at 6º looks as 82 1.9 8 bright as a star at 35º, it actually 84 2.5 6 is 2 magnitudes brighter. 85 2.9 5 86 3.5 4 87 4.2 3 88 5.4 2 89 7.4 1 90 11.2 0 (horizon) Clear skies! If you have any comments, please send email to Topi Tuomi.