But then, at some point in the distant past, Hale-Bopp was knocked out of the Oort Cloud and began its approach toward the sun. Now, it takes roughly 2,400 years to complete its orbit around our star.

Hale-Bopp didn't come as close as Hyakutake, but it was a very large comet and formed two distinct tails, one of gas and one made of dust as it swung closest to the sun in late March 1997.

Hale-Bopp, which appeared 1,000 times brighter than famed Halley’s Comet, was one of the most-viewed comets in history. It was particularly visible in the Northern Hemisphere.

What he actually saw was a comet later identified as C/1995 O1 or, more commonly, the Comet Hale-Bopp. It was named after both Bopp and astronomer Alan Hale, who saw the object just minutes apart.

CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. July 23, 2005 marks the ten-year anniversary of the discovery of Comet Hale-Bopp, and co-discoverer Dr. Alan Hale is announcing plans for an event to celebrate the occasion.

Shot of Comet Hale-Bopp hurtling through the evening sky over Red Rock Canyon at 43,000 mph ran in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and later was sold as a poster at the park’s visitor center.

Comet Hale-Bopp was discovered in 1995 and was visible to the naked eye for 18 months, longer than any other comet. In the headlines: 3 arrested in killing of suspected witch ...

Comet Hale-Bopp became a doomsday omen for Heaven’s Gate simply by coincidence — the timing was perfectly wrong. It was just another celestial body wrangled into apocalyptic prophecies.

Comet Hale-Bopp can be seen between 5 and 6 a.m. in the northeast sky until Friday. From Friday until about March 26, moonlight will interfere with sightings. After that, the comet will be ...

Comet Hale-Bopp is hurtling through our neck of the solar system enroute to its closest pass by Earth on March 22. For the next six weeks, it is expected to far outshine recent pretenders ...

Even though Comet Hale-Bopp didn't come particularly close to Earth, because of its unusual brightness and large size it was visible to the naked eye for 19 months, the longest ever recorded for a ...