Clips/ Feature Article

Comet Hale-Bopp star attraction at lecture and skygazing
By Richard Trombly | Longmeadow News : March 27,1997

Richard Sanderson of Astro Education will host a discussion and family stargazing featuring comet Hale-Bopp on Friday, April.

"We try to present information in a format that excites the interest of youth and the community in general without burdening them with too many facts and figures," said Sanderson. "We want people to witness the mysteries of the universe first-hand. It is one thing to see comets, planets, or constellations on slides or at a planetarium, but it doesn't compare to going out and actually viewing them."

The program, which will meet at Longmeadow High School from 7 to 9 p.m., will include a one-hour indoor discussion covering historical information on comets, the anatomy of comets, last year's spectacular comet Hyakutake, viewing prospects for comet Hale Bopp, and comet photography. There will then be a one-hour viewing of the comet.

This event is not appropriate for children under 10 years of age. In case of rain or clouds, there are back-up dates of Saturday, April 12 or Sunday, April 13. The hotline number for rain or cloud instructions is 565-4165. This is a free event but phone registration must be made by calling 565-4160 by Friday, April 4. The program is limited to 200 participants.

Astro Education is an organization comprised of Richard Sanderson, Jack Megas, and David Gallup. These three amateur astronomers formed Astro Education to provide presentations to schools, parks, nature centers, clubs, and camps.

Their focus is youth but they have an interest in encouraging all ages toward involvement in viewing the night sky and all its wonders.

Sanderson said that there was a great interest in the history of comets during the last appearance of Haley's comet. Astro Education was formed then to promote interest in astronomy. This group does between 20 and 30 presentations yearly.

The three members of Astro Education are employees of Baystate Medical Center in various positions and each pursue various interests.

David Galiup is president of the Springfield naturalist's club, Jack Megas works at the Seymour Planetarium at the Springfield Science Museum, and Richard Sanderson writes about astronomy for various newspapers and journals.

Sanderson said that he has been observing the night sky for 25 years and that he feels fortunate to see two magnificent comets in two years.

"Comets like 1996's Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp usually are seen only once every 20 or 25 years but there may be 40 or 50 years without any spectacular comets," said Sanderson.

"This is really exciting and rare," he added. "It really excites curiosity."

He said that Hyakutake came very close to the earth and so appeared very prominently in the sky.

"Hale-Bopp, however is simply a gigantic comet," said Sanderson. "Next to Mars and the moon, Hale Bopp is the brightest thing in the sky."

This is one of the most spectacular astronomical events of the decade and beyond but, because the orbital period of Hale-Bopp is nearly 4200 years, this appearance of the comet will be our only opportunity to view it.

He stressed that this phenomenon was visible to the naked eye even under city lights. He said that he hoped that parents would take the time to share this experience with their children.

Sanderson said that he recommends binoculars for optimum viewing of the comet and that it is best viewed as far from artificial lights as possible.