National Examiner of April 1997, with a cover story on Hollywood Cults AKA Heave’s Gate, and the Comet Hale-Bopp.
Hale-Bopp was believed by Heaven’s Gate to be trailed by a craft which would take them to the evolutionary level above human. This issue was published one month after the Heaven’s Gate suicides.
Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp discovered Comet Hale–Bopp separately on July 23, 1995, before it became visible to the naked eye. It is difficult to predict the maximum brightness of new comets with any degree of certainty, but Hale–Bopp exceeded most predictions when it passed perihelion on April 1, 1997, reaching about magnitude −1.8. It was visible to the naked eye for a record 18 months, due to its massive nucleus size. This is twice as long as the Great Comet of 1811, the previous record holder. Accordingly, Hale–Bopp was dubbed the Great Comet of 1997.
National Examiner of April 1997, with a cover story on Hollywood Cults AKA Heave’s Gate, and the Comet Hale-Bopp.
Hale-Bopp was believed by Heaven’s Gate to be trailed by a craft which would take them to the evolutionary level above human. This issue was published one month after the Heaven’s Gate suicides.
Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp discovered Comet Hale–Bopp separately on July 23, 1995, before it became visible to the naked eye. It is difficult to predict the maximum brightness of new comets with any degree of certainty, but Hale–Bopp exceeded most predictions when it passed perihelion on April 1, 1997, reaching about magnitude −1.8. It was visible to the naked eye for a record 18 months, due to its massive nucleus size. This is twice as long as the Great Comet of 1811, the previous record holder. Accordingly, Hale–Bopp was dubbed the Great Comet of 1997.
