As Comet Hale-Bopp spins, parts of the comet's surface shoot away in jets. Even though the central part of Comet Hale-Bopp 's coma is quite condensed, the nucleus is not visible. Comet Hale-Bopp is now headed south, away from the Sun , and is getting dimmer . At its brightest last week, it was even brighter than Comet Hyakutake was last year, although with a less prominent tail . Comet Hale-Bopp will still be easily visible to northern observers for several weeks in the northwest sky after sunset .
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