Lowell Observatory tweets: comet Hale-Bopp closet approach was 26 years ago yesterday, March 22 — three days before death of our grandfather and same month his favorite grandson relocated from Key West to Amelia Island in a truck purchased from Australians who used it to tour cross country. For years our father sent letters to the three siblings in our different locales coast-to-coast imploring “we still have time” to reunite as a family. But we never did.
Wednesday, March 22, 2023:
Amelia 5° 51′, Juno 5° 53′, Venus 6° 05′ Taurus
Image above: “Comet Hale-Bopp. Author shot this image at Tierra del Sol in San Diego County in April, 1997. A telescope was used to guide the camera. The blue ion tail is clearly visible.” CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia
Image below: Amateur astronomer Thomas Bopp observed the comet from a remote locale 90 miles south of Phoenix around 11:00 PM, July 22, 1995, while professional astronomer/comet observer Alan Hale also spotted it from his home in Cloudcroft, New Mexico (via Wikipedia). Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff (111W, 35N) is home to Pluto discovery.