Portal:Astronomy/Picture/16 June 2005
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Comet Hale–Bopp broke many records when it appeared in 1995, some two years before its perihelion date. It lay beyond the orbit of Jupiter when it was found, a record distance for a cometary discovery. It became a great comet during April and May 1997, being brighter than apparent magnitude 0 for eight weeks, and was visible to the naked eye for 18 months – twice as long as any previously observed comet.