Not many comets are visible from the middle of today's light-polluted cites, but Comet Hale-Bopp, which flew by in spring 1997 was a stand-out. This picture, taken by Jakob Kuiper on March 30, 1997, shows the apparition shaking out her tresses over downtown Utrecht. Hale-Bopp finds the bright lights of the inner solar system addictive and is fated to return more and more frequently. Her previous visit was about 4,200 years ago, but her next will be in about 2,370 years. You can find over five thousand snaps of the comely Hale-Bopp at this NASA site.
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