STARGAZERS SOUNDING ALARM OVER HALE-BOPP.Byline: Joseph B. Verrengia Scripps-McClatchy Western Service Comet Hale-Bopp Comet Hale-Bopp (formally designated C/1995 O1) was probably the most widely observed comet of the twentieth century, and one of the brightest seen for many decades. is spewing vapor and dust like a pressure cooker, and sporting twin tails as it screams past Earth this month. Astronomers and amateur skywatchers are reporting that the comet's enormous nucleus - at least 25 miles in diameter - is looking ``elongated'' and ``strange.'' This frozen core of ice and debris is encircled en·cir·cle tr.v. en·cir·cled, en·cir·cling, en·cir·cles 1. To form a circle around; surround. See Synonyms at surround. 2. To move or go around completely; make a circuit of. by a coma, or rings of material shredding off the core as it hurtles through space. It's also spouting spout·ing n. Chiefly Pennsylvania & New Jersey See gutter. See Regional Note at gutter. spouting Noun NZ a. geysers The examples and perspective in this USA may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. This is an alphabetical list of notable geysers, a type of erupting hot spring: Does this mean the comet is breaking up? Detailed observation reports and photographs are being posted on the Internet with increasing frequency and urgency as Hale-Bopp approaches its closest encounter with Earth - 122 million miles - on March 22. Amateur observers are sounding alarms about how Hale-Bopp appears as if it might be unraveling before us. But scientific observers are discounting the possibility - for now, anyway. ``There is abundant activity,'' said University of Denver Background and rankings The University was founded in 1864 as Colorado Seminary by John Evans, the former Territorial Governor of Colorado, who had been appointed by US President Abraham Lincoln. astronomer Robert Stencel. ``But is it fragmenting? There is no safe prediction. It's probably not going to disintegrate, but it will give a good show.'' Much of the controversy can be traced to the nature of this comet. At 25 miles in diameter, Hale-Bopp is big; millions of comets measure less than a mile across, and the most famous comet, Halley, measures 10 miles. It also traces a large orbit through the solar system solar system, the sun and the surrounding planets, natural satellites, dwarf planets, asteroids, meteoroids, and comets that are bound by its gravity. The sun is by far the most massive part of the solar system, containing almost 99.9% of the system's total mass. that takes an estimated 4,000 years to complete. Not only is it an unfamilar object to observers, but it has been accumulating a thick coating of frozen material on its nucleus as it passes far from the Sun. When viewed through larger and more sophisticated instruments, the comet shows itself to be shedding its frozen coat, much like snow blowing off the roof of a car as it speeds down the interstate. ``But the material coming off looks like a split of the comet when you view it at lower resolutions,'' said Katy Garmany, an astronomer at the University of Colorado University of Colorado may refer to:
Astronomers describe Hale-Bopp as perhaps the brightest comet on record in more than 400 years, and it has been visible to the naked eye for several weeks. With cooperative weather, it could become the best-observed comet in recorded history.. ``It's a naked-eye object right now; I can see it out my bedroom window to the east,'' Garmany said. ``It's certainly brighter than any star in that part of the sky. But to see the tail, you have to get away from city lights.'' |
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