The Big Bopper!

[Weather-history]

Its hard to believe its now 15 years ago since the magnificent comet Hale-Bopp graced our skies. It was a spectacular object that was viewed by hundreds of millions in the northern hemisphere for most of spring 1997 reaching its peak during the Easter of that year. What made this comet particularly special was that it was well away from the sun and so could be seen in a dark sky whilst retaining its brightness. Usually truely bright comets such as comet McNaught come very close to the Sun, so when at its brightest, there is only small window of opportunity after sunset to see the comet before it sets. With Hale-Bopp, it was viewed all night.

Lets hope another brilliant comet will soon come around and maybe can be viewed even in broad daylight.

Here's a short BBC news report from March 1997 of the comet

[Andy Bown]

Ah the memories of an Easter weekend spent at Butlins Minehead and long evenings sat at the beach star and comet gazing!

[Stargazer]

I always remember watching Comet Hyakutake in 1996 with a couple of friends (bright but nothing like as spectacular). One of them said, "You know, there's supposed to be an even better one coming along next year!"

[Aaron]

Comet Hale-Bopp over Leeds

[Guest QuantumSnow]

I have fond memories of spending an evening with my astronomy-loving father sat on the south downs observing Hale-Bopp, I was 14 at the time. A beautiful sight

[Summer of 95]

It was a truly unforgettable sight, helped by the fact that there were several crystal-clear nights during late March and April 1997. Hyakutake would have been memorable as well, but it appeared during the very cloudy March 1996 (I only managed to see it twice, while Hale-Bopp was visible virtually every night for a month), and was severely outdone the following year.

Although much fainter and lacking a visible tail, Holmes a couple of years ago was a good one for the way it suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and Perseus seemed to gain an extra star.