April 15, 1997
Every birthday is a reminder that you are made of the same material as the stars overhead — carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, all cooked in stellar...
Hale-Bopp and Plateau de Bure Interferometer Credit and Copyright:
Birthday · April 15, 1997
A little universe, just for you
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APOD published April 15, 1997. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
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Hale-Bopp and Plateau de Bure Interferometer Credit and Copyright:
Original APOD · April 15, 1997 ↗Comet Hale-Bopp is being observed by many different telescopes. Here the comet is pictured behind the array of radio telescopes which compose the Plateau de Bure Interferometer. These telescopes are being used to detect the presence of different molecules in the coma and tail of Comet Hale-Bopp. Molecules detected in the comet include carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. The abundance of different types of molecules in Comet Hale-Bopp's coma give clues to its composition and history, as well as clues to the composition and history of our Solar System. Comet Hale-Bopp has now rounded the Sun and is headed back out. It can still be seen by northern observers for several weeks in the northwest sky after sunset.