The current estimate is circa 4380 CE. Hale-Bopp's orbital period was altered due to the gravitational effects of approaching Jupiter as closely as 0.77AU (1 AU = average distance between earth and sun) in April 1996. The orbital period before it approached the solar system planets was about 4200 years, which changed to 2380 years following the gravitational interaction with Jupiter.

Like most comets, Hale-Bopp also releases large jets of easily vaporized material when it approaches the sun. While predominantly H2O, many other compounds such as acetaldehyde, prussic acid, and hydrogen sulfide are also present in these jets. Even though such outgassing has been modeled, it introduces additional uncertainties to orbital period estimation.

This page was last updated on July 18, 2015.

ORBIT UPDATE Object: Comet Hale-Bopp (1995 O1) JPL Ref. Solution: 59 Planetary Ephemeris: DE403 No. Observations: 2158 Observation Arc: 1993 Apr 27 - 1997 Mar 29 - Residual Summary - RA Dec Total Mean.023.034.040 RMS, unweighted.773.976.880 - Corrected Elements (J2000): Solution 59 Epoch 240 = 1997 May 3.00000 Post-Fit. Hubble Images of Comet Hale-Bopp Aug 02, 1998 This is a series of Hubble Space Telescope observations of the region around the nucleus of Hale-Bopp.

Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) is currently in the constellation of Octans. The current Right Ascension of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) is 23h 32m 35s and the Declination is -84° 07’ 13” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) is 25.45 (JPL).

Summary of key facts about Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:

The situation leading to the determination of the Hale-Bopp orbit is discussed, largely in terms of a procedure that generates two sequences of parabolic orbits. The comet is also considered in relation to the problem of the possibility of impact on the earth. The placement of its orbital nodes near the orbits of the earth and Jupiter is clearly an intriguing feature.

• C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) isbelow the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
• Given its current magnitude, C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) is visible only through long exposure photography.
• See also C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) rise and set times.
• Go to interactive sky chart

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Additional information about Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) available on TheSkyLive:

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1)?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) from Earth?)
• Rise and set times (see also When does Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) rise and set?)
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1)?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Below we provide Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

The distance of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) from Earth is currently 6,668,440,544 kilometers, equivalent to 44.575772 Astronomical Units. Light takes 6 hours, 10 minutes and 43.5234 seconds to travel from Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Between January 1900 and January 2100, the closest approach of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) to Earth happens on Sat Mar 22 1997 at a distance of 1.315204 Astronomical Units, or 196,751,791 kilometers:

Comet Hale Bopp Orbit

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

The current visual magnitude of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) is 25.45.

The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated Magnitude as a directional indication. We acknowledge with thanks the comet observations from the COBS Comet Observation Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this table to report recent comet observations.

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1), according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) is currently not visible from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) at epoch 14 September 2008 00:00 UTC (JD: 2454724.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!

Hale-bopp Orbit

Hale Bopp Comet Orbital Period

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Cometa Hale Bopp Orbita