Memories of Ice and Ions

"Comet Hale-Bopp, the Great Comet of 1997, became much brighter than any surrounding stars. It was seen even over bright city lights. Away from city lights, however, it put on quite a spectacular show. Here Comet Hale-Bopp was photographed above Val Parola Pass in the Dolomite mountains surrounding Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Comet Hale-Bopp's blue ion tail, consisting of ions from the comet's nucleus, is pushed out by the solar wind. The white dust tail is composed of larger particles of dust from the nucleus driven by the pressure of sunlight, that orbit behind the comet. Observations showed that Comet Hale-Bopp's nucleus spins about once every 12 hours. A comet that may well exceed Hale-Bopp's peak brightness is expected to fall into the inner Solar System next year."

I actually remember seeing Hale-Bopp when I was a little kid. I was riding into town in my parent's Chevrolet Suburban and I remember looking at the sky out of the window and seeing it up there. Back then it had very little meaning to me. It was just something in the sky. Now that memory is a very cherished one for me.