 or what he calls the lost generation--those high school and college students who
have never had the experience of seeing a bright comet--Thomas Hockey, associate
professor of earth science, wrote The Comet Hale-Bopp Book: Guide to an Awe-inspiring
Visitor from Deep Space (ATL Press, 1996)
The book tells the story, in nontechnical language, of what is "likely to be the most
well studied comet ever." Normally, a Great Comet, one bright enough to be visible to the
naked eye, appears in Earth's sky approximately every 10 years. Until last year's appearance
of Comet Hyakutake, such a comet had not been seen for 20 years.
Because Hale-Bopp was discovered when it was far away (unlike Hyakutake, which
was discovered less than two months before it reached peak brightness), astronomers will
have ample time to study it. In particular, observations of Hale-Bopp should yield data
about the types of chemicals that make up a long-period comet and how such a comet reacts
when it is close to the Sun.
After providing some basic information on comets, Hockey relates the tale of
Hale-Bopp's discovery (more accurately, he lets the two astronomers who discovered the
comet, one a professional and the other an amateur, tell the story in their own words). He
then discusses Hale-Bopp's vital statistics: its distance from earth, its orbit, size, appearance
and composition.
Readers are also given specifics on when, where and how to observe (peak
performance will be March-April of this year), including guidance on buying a telescope.
(The University of Northern Iowa's Hillside Observatory will be open to the public to view
Hale-Bopp at 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, March 24-26; in case of inclement
weather, the dates will be March 31-April 2.)
So far, Hockey has received positive reviews on the book, which was published in
December. To provide his readers with the latest breaking information, he has prepared
an update on Hale-Bopp, available through his E-mail address (given below), and the
number of requests has been considerable.
For Hockey, Hale-Bopp revived a childhood enthusiasm for comets, starting with
Comet Bennett in 1970, when he was 11 years old. In recent years his interest has focused
on planet Jupiter. He had studied historical records of comets striking Jupiter, so when
Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with the planet in 1994, Hockey had a front-row seat. From
there, it was a natural and logical step to move to Hale-Bopp.
cont.
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Now turning his attention once again to Jupiter, Hockey is using ten years of research
on the planet as the basis for a reference book (to be published next year by the Institute
of Physics Publishing) that is a historical examination of planetary astronomy rather than
strictly an astronomy book.
Covering the period when the human eye was the principal astronomical detector,
the book is a comprehensive study of physical observations of Jupiter from ancient times to
1882. At about this time, astronomers were beginning to realize that Jupiter was more like
the Sun than the Earth.
Hockey first describes what we know about Jupiter today, based on interpretations
of 20 years of Pioneer, Voyager and Hubble Space Telescope image analysis. This picture
of Jupiter serves as the backdrop for a historical discussion of Jovian observations, ranging
from ancient civilizations to the first telescopic observation in 1610 to the discovery of
Jupiter's Great Red Spot in 1878.
Because astronomical observations are so dependent on the engineering limitations
of instruments, Hockey makes a brief detour to outline the history of observational
instrumentation and techniques. He also retraces the planet's investigation from the
theoretical, as opposed to the observational, perspective, discussing speculations about
Jupiter's composition, structure, origin and evolution.
A selected listing of Hockey's recent related publications follows as well as his E-mail
address.
Hockey, T. (1996). The Australian pre-discovery of Jupiter's great red spot.
Eos,Transactions, American Geophysical Union, 77 (22), W72.
Hockey, T. (1996). The search for historical impact sites on Jupiter. Planetary and
SpaceScience, 44 (6), 559-564.
Hockey, T. (1994). The Shoemaker-Levy 9 spots on Jupiter: Their place in history.
Earth,Moon and Planets, 66 (1), 1-9.
Hockey, T. (1992). Seeing red: Observations of color in Jupiter's equatorial zone on
theeve of the modern discovery of the great red spot. Journal for the History ofAstronomy,
23, 93-105.
Hockey, T. (1991). Nineteenth century investigations of periodicities in the
Jovianatmosphere. Vistas in Astronomy, 34, 409-414.
 thomas.hockey@uni.edu
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