The enduring beauty of the night sky was magically transformed last spring by an unexpectedly bright comet called Hyakutake. A brilliant comet is a rare and wonderful thing, and Comet Hyakutake, named after its Japanese discoverer, dazzled observers in late March of 1996 with a tail that appeared bright even in light-polluted urban skies. The spring of 1997 promises another exceptionally bright cometary visitor to our night skies: Comet Hale-Bopp.

Comets are cosmic snowballs of ice and dust, often many kilometers in diameter, that revolve around the Sun in immense elliptical orbits. When their orbits take them near to the Sun, some of the comets' substance can vaporize to form dramatic tails stretching millions of kilometers through space. Several noteworthy comets have made the news in recent years, among them Comet West in 1976 , IRAS-Araki-Alcock in 1983, Halley's in 1986, and Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1994.

Comet Hale-Bopp is becoming equally celebrated. It is visible this month in the eastern sky before dawn, and will grow easier to see through March and into early April. Predictions of cometary brightness can be shaky, of course -- as anyone who remembers Comet Kohoutek of 1973 will know -- but the World Wide Web can provide up-to-the-minute information about Hale-Bopp, and advice for observing it over the next couple of months.

The Great Canadian Hairy Star Party offers news, images, regularly updated finder charts, and tips for novice observers. Another superb resource for backyard observers is Information on Comet Hale-Bopp for the Non-Astronomer .Russell Sipe's Comet Hale-Bopp Home Page provides history, definitions, and photos. NASA has put together an excellent guide at its Comet Hale-Bopp Home Page, with links to archives of images and to related information. The European Southern Observatory has recent news about the comet, and a well-designed clearinghouse of additional Hale-Bopp sites.

Research about comets can be pursued on Richmond Public Library's Internet workstations. There are drop-in stations at both the Brighouse Main branch and the Steveston branch. Three stations at Brighouse branch can be booked in advance by calling 231-6415. Comments and suggestions for future columns may be e-mailed to column@yourlibrary.ca.