This was posted on the astro list today...thought you all would find it interesting? George Zay << There has been some false reports of a nucleus breakup of Comet Hale-Bopp. What is being observed is not a nucleus breakup, but the formation of a shell that expands away from the comet. For more information on this, see Mark Kidger's writeup at: http://newproducts.jpl.nasadot gov/comet/news38.html Ron Baalke >>