Comet Shows Star Quality

As Comet Hale-Bopp speeds toward its splashiest show yet in Southern California, crowds of Orange County astronomy enthusiasts are streaming outdoors for a glimpse.

Sky-gazing trips by the Orange County Astronomers club are packed, and membership is up. Rank amateurs are enthralled by a comet so big and bright that it usually can be seen with the naked eye even from Orange County’s misty coastal areas.

And thankfully, this week the comet has become visible just after sunset, so that a viewing no longer requires a bleary-eyed trek out of bed before dawn.

Comet Hale-Bopp, heralded as the brightest comet of the century, is predicted to be at its closest to Earth on Saturday, although it might be at its most visible Sunday evening, when a nearly total eclipse of the moon will help darken the surrounding skies.

Public comet gatherings are multiplying around the county.

A viewing earlier this month in Orange Coast College’s parking lot in Costa Mesa drew 350 people; another one scheduled for this evening is expected to draw 1,000.

More than 200 people showed up for a recent outing to the

Orange County Astronomers’ 20-acre desert plot in Riverside County, said John Sanford, president of the group. “That place was packed,” he said, “and it’s at least 90 miles out. I’ve been getting three or four calls a day of people interested in joining.”

The desert parties provide the ideal viewing conditions for Hale-Bopping: clear skies, remote locations away from city lights and, when possible, not much moon.

But because Hale-Bopp is so large and bright, the most magnification anyone needs is a pair of binoculars, and it can be seen easily with the naked eye even within urban boundaries.

The comet was named for its discoverers, amateur astronomer Thomas Bopp and professional astronomer Alan Hale, who spotted it in August 1995. Hale-Bopp became visible to casual watchers in late February.

The last time the comet could be seen was 4,000 years ago, and it will be 4,000 more before it returns. So, given the last chance in a very long time to see Hale-Bopp, comet-watchers are staring upward in awe.

“I think people have through the ages found comets fascinating because they look very different from anything in the sky,” said UCI Chancellor Laurel L. Wilkening, who also teaches an astronomy seminar.

As comets move closer to the sun, they appear brighter. Their tails also grow longer closer to the sun as the heat causes part of the massive, dirty snowballs to evaporate, releasing dust and gas within.

Wilkening recently invited her class to a Hale-Bopp watch along Ortega Highway. Of her 13 students, six showed, and considering it was a voluntary meeting which convened at 3 a.m., she considered it a good turnout.

Wilkening has made a trip to Ortega Highway twice, the place she recommends for good comet viewing. And she has seen it from her backyard in Newport Beach, considered a real coup since coastal areas are prone to overcast skies.

Nicholas Contopoulos, an astronomy professor at Orange Coast College, said the big draw of the college’s March 7 viewing was testimony to the comet’s drawing power, especially considering that it also was held at 3 a.m. This evening’s gathering will be held at a more civilized 6 p.m.

People are starving for a little celestial wonder, he said.

“This thing stops everybody and they look up and they’re disconnected with all of the gadgets in this world and see this splendor in the sky,” he said.

Working against the viewing this evening will be a full moon; and of course, there’s always the threat of overcast skies.

But with a bit of luck and either the naked eye or a pair of binoculars--which some say are actually superior to telescopes for viewing the comet--anyone who checks out the northwest sky in the early evening should be rewarded with a good view of the comet. In the predawn morning, the comet can be seen in the northeastern sky, closer to the horizon.

By late April, it will become much harder to see.

Though casual observers are just now looking at the comet, major fans plan to track it until they no longer can spot it.

Sanford is among them. “In the beginning it was a faint, round fuzz-ball, when it was still out around Jupiter,” Sanford said. “In the last few months it’s got a long tail.”

David Manrique of San Juan Capistrano, computer programmer by day, celestial guide by night, hosts star-gazing tours at the Rancho Mission Viejo Land Conservancy, and speaks breathlessly about Hale-Bopp. Manrique has his own theory as to why Hale-Bopp’s arrival is so special.

“When you look up in the sky, you see a sky that doesn’t change, basically. You see the moon and the sun go by. And the stars, they stay in fixed position and you barely see them move,” Manrique said. “But a comet comes and goes by so quickly.”

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Light Traveler

Hale-Bopp appears as a large, blurry object slowly crossing the northeast horizon in the morning and in the northwest at night. It is visible with the naked eye, but viewing with binoculars or a low-powered telescope can enhance details of its tail. Prime viewing will continue in the predawn sky and at dusk. After late April, it will longer be visible to amateurs.

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Comet Position in Evening Sky

Note: The moon will be full Sunday (when there will also be a nearly total eclipse) and April 22, and bright moonlight will make comet viewing less than optimum.

Small dot: Bright moonlight will interfere

Bigger dot: Best viewing days

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When to Watch

Hale-Bopp is best seen about one hour after sunset in the northwest sky until it nears the horizon. The best times for evening viewing:

Dates (Times)

March 21-24 (7:05 to 8:10)

March 25-30 (7:10 to 8:40)

April 1-4 (7:15 to 9:10)

April 5-9 (7:15 to 9:20)

April 10-14 (8:20 to 10:20)

April 15-19 (8:25 to 10:15)

April 20-24 (8:30 to 10:10)

April 25-29 (8:35 to 10)

April 30-May 4 (8:40 to 9:45)

May 5-9 (8:40 to 9:35)

May 10-14 (8:45 to 9:20)

Source: Griffith Observatory

Researched by APRIL JACKSON / Los Angeles Times

Where to Watch

Several Orange County groups have organized parties to view the comet Hale-Bopp. This Sunday evening also will offer sky-watchers a bonus lunar eclipse. A partial listing:

* Orange County Astronomers

Four locations to view Hale-Bopp and lunar eclipse; free

Locations: Golden West College, Huntington Beach; Carl Thornton Regional Park, South Santa Ana; Crown Valley Elementary School, Laguna Niguel; Muckenthaler Cultural Center, Fullerton

When: March 23, 6-10 p.m.

Information: (714) 995-2203

* Orange Coast College

Viewing behind OCC’s Horticulture Department, just off Adams Avenue, between Fairview Road and Harbor Boulevard; free

When: Today and next Friday, April 4, 6-9 p.m.

Information: (714) 432-0202

* Rancho Mission Viejo Land Conservancy

Viewing at the Talega Reserve, located on Ortega Highway, 5.1 miles east of Interstate 5; $5 for adults, $2 for children 8 and older, children 7 and younger free; call for reservation

When: April 12, 8-10 p.m.

Information/reservation: (714) 489-9778

ONLINE VIEWING

Here are some of the many Web sites on the Internet devoted to Hale-Bopp:

* Orange County Astronomers: https://www.chapman.edu/oca/

* NASA: https://comet.hq.nasa.gov/

* Griffith Observatory: https://www.GriffithObs.org

* CNN: https://www.cnn.com/TECH/9702/hale.bopp.comet/index.html

COMET TALES

* What It Is

A comet is a ball of ice, frozen gasses and dirt, typically a few miles across. Hale-Bopp is among the largest ever observed. It is currently beyond Jupiter in its 30-million-mile orbit around the sun at a maximum speed of 99,000 mph.

* In a Name

Comets are named after those who report them. Hale-Bopp is named after professional astronomer Alan Hale of Alamogordo, N.M., and Thomas Bopp, an amateur astronomer in Phoenix who doesn’t even own a telescope. They sighted the comet nearly simultaneously in 1995 from their respective homes, nearly 500 miles apart.

Source: Times reports; Researched by EMILY OTANI and APRIL JACKSON / Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times