Editing Comet Hale–Bopp (section)

== Perihelion ==
[[File:Comet-Hale-Bopp-29-03-1997 hires adj.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The comet became a spectacular sight in early 1997.]]
[[File:Comet Hale-Bopp starmap 1997.png|thumb|Star map of path with 14-day motion marked]]
Hale–Bopp became visible to the [[naked eye]] in May 1996, and although its rate of brightening slowed considerably during the latter half of that year,{{r|Kidger_2004}} scientists were still cautiously optimistic that it would become very bright. It was too closely aligned with the Sun to be observable during December 1996, but when it reappeared in January 1997 it was already bright enough to be seen by anyone who looked for it, even from large cities with [[light pollution|light-polluted]] skies.{{r|NYT-19970309}}

[[Internet|The Internet]] was a growing phenomenon at the time, and numerous websites that tracked the comet's progress and provided daily images from around the world became extremely popular. The Internet played a large role in encouraging the unprecedented public interest in comet Hale–Bopp.{{r|sciam-19970317}}

As the comet approached the Sun, it continued to brighten, shining at 2nd&nbsp;magnitude in February, and showing a growing pair of [[Comet tail|tails]], the blue gas tail pointing straight away from the Sun and the yellowish dust tail curving away along its orbit. On March 9, a [[Solar eclipse of March 9, 1997|solar eclipse]] in China, [[Mongolia]] and eastern [[Siberia]] allowed observers there to see the comet in the daytime.{{r|McGee_1997}} Hale–Bopp had its closest approach to Earth on March 22, 1997, at a distance of 1.315&nbsp;[[astronomical unit|au]].{{r|jpl5}}

As it passed perihelion on April 1, 1997, the comet developed into a spectacular sight. It shone brighter than any star in the sky except [[Sirius]], and its dust tail stretched 40–45 [[degree (angle)|degrees]] across the sky.{{r|West_1997a|Shylaja_1997}} The comet was visible well before the sky got fully dark each night, and while many great comets are very close to the Sun as they pass perihelion, comet Hale–Bopp was visible all night to [[northern hemisphere|Northern Hemisphere]] observers.{{r|West_1997b}}