Comet Hale-Bopp offers spectacular treat to stargazers

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Amateur astronomers are in their glory: This week marks the beginning of the ascent of Comet Hale-Bopp into the evening sky.

The much-publicized celestial event, which has stunned even the most jaded scientists, will be visible to the naked eye for several weeks, ending when the comet disappears over the horizon. It will then be visible only in the southern hemisphere, astronomers say.

Here, in Bemidji, the comet is beginning to rise to a height in the evening sky at which even the most casual of stargazers will see it, giving people a chance to see a comet that will not be seen again for 2,000 years.

Until now, one had to rise as early as 4 a.m. to see Hale-Bopp, but it is making its debut after dusk for the first time this week, and astronomers say it is a spectacular sight not to be missed.

Hale-Bopp first became visible to the naked eye in September, according to Minneapolis Planetarium Program Coordinator Bob Nerdahl, who would rise at 5 a.m. to see it. But it was nothing more than a fuzzy blotch of light for many weeks.

In December, a stubborn, cloudy sky relinquished only a few views of the comet, and through January, February and the beginning of March, cosmic junkies around the world have been anxiously awaiting the most promising sight of it to occur during the evening hours.

For viewers who live above 45 degrees north latitude, the head of the comet should be visible all night long in late March, according to a University of Minnesota Astronomy Department news release.

That means residents of the Bemidji area -- which is between the 47th and 48th latitudes -- will have an excellent opportunity for a few weeks.

March 26 through April 8 are predicted to be the best days to see the comet, but Nerdahl warns that viewers ought to sneak a peek "early and often" because by May 15 the comet can only be seen in the southern hemisphere and because the comet changes from viewing to viewing.

The best way to view Hale-Bopp is as far away from city lights as possible. Look westward immediately after dusk when the sky will be moonless. But Nerdahl said the comet will be so dominant in the next few weeks that even inside Bemidji city limits with interference from many lights, people will see it.

The most spectacular view may be March 22 when the comet will come closest in its orbit to earth -- 122 million miles away.

"I've seen Hale-Bopp more times than my wife would like me talking about," Nerdahl said. "But this is an exceptional comet. We don't know when we'll see another comet like this."

Experts say there are three reasons Hale-Bopp is unusual.

• First, is it has changed dramatically since when it was first viewed. It has grown many times brighter, and the tail is beginning to widen and elongate. Nerdahl said the tail is comprised of mostly dirt and debris, and that is what people are viewing when they see a comet's tail -- the refraction of the sun's light off the debris following the comet. "This comet has a wide tail because it's so dirty," he said laughing. "It's a filthy comet."

• Second, is that it is on pace to set the record for the number of months a comet was able to be viewed by the naked eye. The record is nine months, but Nerdahl said Hale-Bopp should easily be viewable longer than that.

• Finally, Hale-Bopp is on an irregular orbit, which means that after its next pass through our solar system, it will more than likely hit another celestial object, ending its orbit near the earth, said Lawrence Rudnick, a U of M astronomy professor.

"The next orbit will only be 2,000 year away, unlike the 4,000 or so years it has taken this time. Then it's orbit will probably be disrupted, and the earth will no longer see Hale-Bopp," Rudnick said. "It's in its final orbiting stages."

If for no other reason, Nerdahl said, people ought to take an opportunity to see a comet when it is visible to the naked eye because it happens only about five times in a lifetime.

After its brief stint in the northern hemisphere, Hale-Bopp will only be visible in the southern hemisphere for a few weeks and then will "dip under our solar system" -- not to return for another 2,000 years.

"When Hale-Bopp was last here, the Egyptian pyramids were brand new," Nerdahl said. "The next time it comes around, who knows what the earth will be like?"