Affiliation:
1. The author is at the NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000, USA.
Abstract
Comet Hale-Bopp is an unusually large and bright comet that will reach perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) in April 1997. In his Perspective, Cruikshank discusses observational results described in seven research reports in this issue of
Science
(see pages
1900
,
1904
,
1907
, 1909,
1913
,
1915
, and 1918). Images from the Hubble Space Telescope indicate a large cometary nucleus, and measurements from the Infrared Satellite Observatory craft reveal the composition of the dust grains being discharged by Hale-Bopp. Radio telescope measurements have tracked the release of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulfur in various molecular species. Photometry shows that gas production is 20 to 100 times greater than any previously observed comet. Such observations may help unravel the puzzle of comet formation and the origins of organic matter in the universe.
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Reference17 articles.
1. The Spectrum of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) Observed with the Infrared Space Observatory at 2.9 Astronomical Units from the Sun
2. Schleicher D. G., et al., ibid.1913.
3. Weaver H. A., et al., ibid.1900.
4. Rauer R., et al., ibid.1909.
5. Biver N., et al., ibid.1915.
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