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FastWalkingShortGuy t1_jdt377d wrote

The 90s were wild for skywatchers.

Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake back-to-back completely ruined my expectations for all future comets.

Add to that the observation of Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacting Jupiter in 1994, and it seemed like these spectacular comet events were the norm rather than one-in-a-lifetime experiences.

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charliehustles t1_jdtsoks wrote

They actually make me feel optimistic for the future. I was a young teen when they came through and vividly remember them. They were amazing and definitely lit a spark in me and my love for astronomy.

While the schedule of known comets close to the grandeur of those two might be light for the next century, I still have faith that we’ll get another surprise great one. Hale Bopp was spotted about 2 years before arrival and Hyakutake came blazing in only 2 months after being spotted. If anything they demonstrated that big guys can just show up from nowhere.

Worst case I’ll hopefully live to 80ish and see Haileys, which of course I’m still sour about, because it last visited when I was a toddler. Too young to remember.

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jackp0t789 t1_jdv9l52 wrote

>While the schedule of known comets close to the grandeur of those two might be light for the next century, I still have faith that we’ll get another surprise great one.

Well, this one may have some potential, but like many newly discovered incoming comets, it may end up being another dud or burn up when it gets closer to the sun.

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