Cloudy skies to obscure view of comet

THE weather over the next few days will serve to confound would be astronomers hoping for a look at the Hale Bopp comet. Just as the comet enters its brightest phase, the clouds close overhead will block our collective view.

Cold, crystal clear air brought many their first, spectacular, view of Hale Bopp on Wednesday night. It was easily picked out above the north west horizon.

No such luck for the next few days however, warns a spokesman for Met Eireann. There may be periodic breaks in the cloud cover tonight and tomorrow night over Munster and south Leinster but the rest of us will just have to wait.

"The next good clear period will be Sunday night after midnight, but by that late hour the comet will be low on the horizon," the spokesman said. Then it is touch and go for the early part of next week, with unpredictable cloud cover.

Mr David Moore of Astronomy Ireland is in no doubt that the wait will be worth it. "Get out on every clear night and make the most of the comet of a lifetime," he said. It is on show for the next seven weeks but is at its brightest for the next seven to 10 days.

Astronomy Ireland hopes to organise a "comet watch" in the Phoenix Park over the next few weeks, assembling a range of high powered telescopes and binoculars for those who show up and want a better view of Hale Bopp.

New information on the comet is coming in from the world's observatories all the time, he said. It is a giant among comets with a diameter of between 40 km and 70 km. Eli dwarfs the better known Halley's comet, which is a peanut shaped object 15 km long, and last year's comet visitor, Hyakutake, which was a mini at 1 km diameter.

Hynkutake came within nine million miles of Earth, which made it appear very bright. HaleBopp is 123 million miles away but its size and the activity at its surface, caused by rising temperatures as it approaches the sun, makes it stand out as a spectacular example of what a comet can be. Mr William Dumpleton of Dunsink Observatory described the comet as on a par with the best over the past 30 years, and provided details of how to find HaleBopp.

Over the next few weeks, the comet can be seen between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. above the north western horizon, and between 4.30 a.m. and 5 a.m. above the north eastern horizon.