Timeline Tuesday 1 April 1997

Events on Tuesday 1 April 1997 1

• 1997 Comet Hale-Bopp reaches perihelion One of the brightest comets of the 20th century Comet Hale-Bopp made its closest approach to the sun and was visible to the naked eye for months, one of the longest such viewing periods on record. Discovered in 1995 by amateur astronomers Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp, it became one of the most-observed comets in history.