Comet Hale–Bopp

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/comet-halebopp

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. Who discovered Comet Hale–Bopp?July 23, 1995
2. What is the formal designation?C/1995 O1
3. What is the estimated nucleus diameter?Approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles)
4. Why was Comet Hale–Bopp so bright?Its nucleus was huge—about 60 kilometers across—so when it approached the Sun it released a lot of ice and dust. This made the comet glow brightly in the night sky.
5. How long could people see Comet Hale–Bopp with their eyes?People could see it for 18 months, which is longer than any other comet had been visible before it.

Long-period comet: A comet originating from the Oort Cloud, with an orbital period exceeding 200 years.
Perihelion: The point in a celestial body's orbit where it is closest to the Sun.
Apparent Magnitude: A logarithmic scale measuring the brightness of an astronomical object as seen from Earth.
Sublimation: The process where a solid changes directly into a gas without becoming a liquid.