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(meteorobs) Hale Bopp

>Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 15:29:13

Hi All
>Quite a large group of us went out To Mojave last night to see Hale Bopp,
and it does seem as though it has peaked now.    The dust cloud has changed
from the last time I saw it, and was longer and thinner looking than before.
Through binoculars it appeared about fifteen degrees long and about three or
four degrees wide with a dfinite curve along along its length.  It had lost
most of its tan color and definitely appeared less bright along its length.
The ion tail had become very feint and was barely visible to the naked eye.
Through the binoculars it appeared very feint and transluscent, and had lost
its blue hue and was still about fifteen degrees long.  Taken overall, the
comet in the approximately 5.8 limiting magnitude area of the sky that it
was in last night it appeared only a little brighter than it had in the
glare of city lights only a week earlier. 
>
>The proceedings were brightened up, however, when we were told of a
prediction that an alien spaceship would be visiting the comet at 7:55 pm
Pacific Standard Time.   At that time all our eyes were cast in that
direction, with binoculars and cameras at the ready.   Sure enough, at that
time, a single cry went out, "There it is".   We watched in awe as a point
of light approached from the south and slowly, but surely, moved closer to
the comet.   In about thirty seconds it entered the tail, about a few
degrees behind the head, exactly as predicted.   In a few seconds it passed
beyond the tail and  I followed it  with the binoculars.  I  was intrigued
to see it pass within a couple of arc seconds of the star Epsilon
Cassiopeia.   Speculation was rife!    " Were we seeing the coming of the
celebrated alien "mothership"?".  "Will we some thirty nine spirits rise to
the mothership?".   "Is its purpose to transport the spirits to another star
system?"    Well.  Not exactly!   This was the Russian spacestation, "Mir",
making its south to north passage over our area.   Quite a notable event in
its own right.   But hardly as spectacular as seeing a real alien spaceship.
>
>Within a minute or two the point of light disappeared and the night's
activities returned to normal.
>
>Ron Rennie
>
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