The "Roses" of Autumn

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Certainly no comet has appeared as visually spectacular as Hyakutake since 1976 (and that year's Comet West was visible only in the few hours before dawn, so most of the public never got to see it). But now—this very fall—there is brightening in our sky a comet that may become as bright or brighter than Hyakutake for months and that will probably display a very much brighter, denser tail and a more brightly structured head. This comet is not coming anywhere near Earth but is expected to get so magnificent because it may simply be one of the largest, most active comets in all of history.

The grand approaching comet is Comet Hale-Bopp. It is named for the two amateur astronomers—Alan Hale and Tom Bopp—who independently discovered it back in July 1995, when the comet was still way, way out beyond the orbit of Jupiter.

I will be telling you more about this potential "comet of the century" in the months ahead—but first let me stress that no one can give us an absolute guarantee about the behavior of something as capricious as a comet. So I can only tell you what we are likely to see in October and November.

Comet Hale-Bopp should be visible to the naked eye by now to anyone who knows where to look for it on a moonless, clear country evening. My advice is to use binoculars, though, for these are a great assistance when conditions are less than superb and the object you're looking for is not yet brilliant. For detailed instructions on where to look, you can consult Sky & Telescope magazine at your local bookstore or library (or my new book, Comet of the Century, Springer-Verlag, due out in bookstores in November).

If you try to find Hale-Bopp over in the west in the few hours after dusk, be patient. It's more than likely that the novice observer will have to wait until the comet gets brighter before it is easy to locate.

On the other hand, if you see a Leonid meteor—a "shooting star" coming from the direction of Leo the Lion in the south sky—before dawn on November 17, you'll immediately know that you saw one. Their appearance is unmistakable. This year, there's a distinct chance that a strong Leonid shower will occur—maybe dozens of meteors in an hour from a country location. If you only see a few, don't be disappointed, though. The greatest chances of a Leonid "meteor storm" (thousands of meteors per hour!) will come in 1998 and 1999.

Almanac

Almanac for October and November 1996

October 1996 1 On this day in 1752, second severe hurricane in two weeks struck the Carolinas. (Some believed it was caused by the change from the Julian to Gregorian calendar in early September.)

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