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1. 

   simpsonfan2 said, 5 months ago

   Halley’s Comet was a ripoff, just looked like a star with a bit of fuzz around it. And that was through the telescope at the Griffith Park Observatory.
2. 

   catfeet said, 5 months ago

   And we won’t even mention Comet Kohoutek!
3. 

   cbrsarah said, 5 months ago

   Depending if I live that long, I would be over a century old when it next comes by.
4. 

   frumdebang said, 5 months ago

   In 1986 the local astronomy club set up telescopes in a city park to view Halley’s. I convinced my elderly mom to get up in the middle of the night to see this rare show. First 2:00 AM traffic jam I’d ever encountered as a lot of folks were similarly inclined. After finally finding a parking space we joined hundreds of others trudging in to the park in the dark, as hundreds of others were leaving after viewing the comet. I never knew why he picked me out in the gloom, but a kid about ten years old on his way out wearily said to me, “It ain’t worth it, mister.” And as simpsonfan2 advised above, the kid was right. (Hale Bopp in 1997 – now THAT was a comet.)
5. 

   Clotty Peristalt said, 5 months ago

   @catfeet

   The phrase “higher and higher with my rear end on fire, just like the Comet Kohoutek” just bubbled up from my subconscious.
6. 

   KasparV said, 5 months ago

   I saw Kohoutek. Of course I was at Kitt Peak at the time. I hope the one this year is at least as good as Hale-Bopp. I’m set up for astrophotography now.
7. 

   Clotty Peristalt said, 5 months ago

   I hadn’t heard of any comet for 2013, so after googling around, I assume Arlo is referring to ISON: http://earthsky.org/space/big-sun-diving-comet-ison-might-be-spectacular-in-2013

   Haley’s was a big letdown, I agree…
8. 

   CG 23 Sailor said, 5 months ago

   Just as Halley’s was getting close enough to be viewed in small telescopes in ’86, We moved to Germany where it remained overcast all winter.
9. 

   uh-oh said, 5 months ago

   Didn’t miss much.
10. 

    doublepaw said, 5 months ago

    Halley’s has been here twice since the Chicago Cubs have won a World Series and here it comes again!
11. 

    NebulousRikulau said, 5 months ago

    Comet West, back in ‘76 was amazing.
    But after the Kohoutek fiasco, they didn’t publicize it, so nobody saw it.
    Halley wasn’t expected to be huge, it never is, it’s just that Halley’s Comet was the first one to have its orbit described, and thus its return predicted.
    It’s Historical, it isn’t Spectacular.
12. 

    ChukLitl said, 5 months ago

    I liked Hayakutaki, a few months before Hale-Bopp.
13. 

    NJB said, 5 months ago

    I went to the Dry Tortugas to see Halley’s with my honey, it was a great trip (camping on the island all by ourselves) and the comet lived up to what I (like Arlo) had waited for. Like much of life, you have to make things work as not much does otherwise.
14. 

    riverhawk said, 5 months ago

    @frumdebang

    Yep , Hale
    Bop was something , had a great dog at that time and watched every night as we took our walk.
15. 

    Slywlf said, 5 months ago

    I remember reading about Halley’s in the back of those comics versions of classic literature (cn’t recall the exact name) and figuring out I’d be in my early 30’s when it would reappear. Oh no – I’ll be ancient! heh heh heh – now, lo these many years later, I too feel owed a real comet after the letdown! Kahoutek was a wash, Hyakutake was pretty good, and Hale-Bopp only so-so due to weather and ground light pollution – so I hope…
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