On March 22, 1997, a super bright comet by the name of Hale-Bopp made its closest approach to Earth.
It was bright enough for people to see without telescopes or binoculars for over 18 months. Comet Hale-Bopp still holds the record for being visible to the naked eye for longer than any other comet, and it was probably the most-viewed comet in history. It passed by Earth at a safe distance of about 120 million miles before continuing its orbit around the sun. As it got closer to the sun, its two blue and white tails grew bigger and brighter. By the time it made it to the sun on April 1, it was shining brighter than every star in the sky except for Sirius.
It was bright enough for people to see without telescopes or binoculars for over 18 months. Comet Hale-Bopp still holds the record for being visible to the naked eye for longer than any other comet, and it was probably the most-viewed comet in history. It passed by Earth at a safe distance of about 120 million miles before continuing its orbit around the sun. As it got closer to the sun, its two blue and white tails grew bigger and brighter. By the time it made it to the sun on April 1, it was shining brighter than every star in the sky except for Sirius.
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TechTranscript
00:00On this day in space.
00:04On March 22, 1997, a super bright comet by the name of Hale-Bopp
00:08made its closest approach to Earth. It was bright enough for people to see without
00:12telescopes or binoculars for over 18 months. Comet Hale-Bopp
00:16still holds the record for being visible to the naked eye for longer than any other comet,
00:20and it was probably the most viewed comet in history. It passed by Earth
00:24at a safe distance of about 120 million miles before continuing on its orbit around
00:28the Sun. As it got closer to the Sun, its two blue and white tails grew
00:32bigger and brighter. By the time it made it to the Sun on April 1, it was
00:36shining brighter than every star in the sky except for Sirius. And that's what happened
00:40on this day in space.
00:44NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology