North is up.
Hale-Bopp is presently located in the rich starfield of the Milky Way in Sagittarius. By Edwin L. Aguirre Steadily brightening as it nears the Sun, Comet Hale-Bopp could be the most spectacular celestial visitor since Comet West in 1976. Already the November Leonids are gaining strength. When a Mongol prince founded the institute that bear's his name, it fostered a golden age of astronomy in the Near East. While astronomers think they have a firm understanding of the cosmic microwave background, the origin of its high-energy counterpart remains a mystery.