Hale-Bopp Co-Discoverer Plans Event to Mark Ten-Year Anniversary of Comet Discovery

HALE-BOPP CO-DISCOVERER PLANS EVENT TO MARK TEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF
COMET
DISCOVERY

January 27, 2005

Contact: Alan Hale, Southwest Institute for Space Research
(505) 687-2075

CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. July 23, 2005 marks the ten-year anniversary of
the
discovery of Comet Hale-Bopp, and co-discoverer Dr. Alan Hale is
announcing
plans for an event to celebrate the occasion. "It seems incredible to
think
that that much time has elapsed since the discovery," remarks Hale. The
comet was at its best in the nighttime sky during the first few months
of
1997, a year and a half after its discovery by Hale and independently
by
Arizona amateur astronomer Thomas Bopp.

The planned two-day event will be held at the Tays Special Events
Center in
Alamogordo, New Mexico on Friday and Saturday, July 22 and 23. Plans
for the
event are still in the process of being finalized, however appearances
by
several prominent guests will be part of the schedule. Some of the
guests
include well-known astronomers -- including fellow co-discoverer Bopp
-- as
well as space visionaries and individuals from the science fiction
community. An exhibition by a prominent space artist, and a benefit
concert
featuring at least one internationally-known musical act, are also
planned
as parts of the festivities.

The event is being planned in part as a fundraiser for the Earthrise
Project
that Hale has begun developing within the past few years. Earthrise is
an
effort to establish an astronomical educational facility in the
Sacramento
Mountains near Cloudcroft, New Mexico, at a location immediately
adjacent to
the site from which Hale made his discovery of Hale-Bopp. The Southwest
Institute for Space Research, of which Hale is Director, purchased the
property at the planned Earthrise site in 2004, and is presently
engaged in
a fundraising campaign to pay off the property loan and begin
development.
Details about Earthrise can be found at the web site
http://www.swisr.org/earthrise.html.

Earthrise is also envisioned as becoming the nexus of an international
network of similar facilities, and to illustrate the international
nature of
Earthrise the anniversary celebration will feature appearances by some
of
Hale's international colleagues, including some astronomrs from Iran
whom he
met during his two recent trips there. "I still stay in regular contact
with
the friends I made in Iran during my visits to that country," Hale
remarks,
adding that "I hope that our example of friendship and collaboration
will
inspire future participants of Earthrise to form their own
international
collaborations."

The Southwest Institute is presently seeking organizations and
businesses,
both within the local area and elsewhere, that are willing to be
sponsors
for the event. Sponsoring organizations and businesses will be featured
prominently as such on program literature and at the Institute's web
site,
and will be allotted booth space for sales and other activities at the
event. Any organization or business interested in being a sponsor for
this
event is invited to contact the Southwest Institute at (505) 687-2075
or by
e-mail at .

Information about the celebration event and a schedule of activities
will be
posted at http://www.swisr.org/celebration.html as plans are finalized
and
as guests are confirmed. "The discovery of Hale-Bopp was certainly a
major
event in my life, and I invite everyone to come share in this
anniversary
celebration with me," Hale says.

wrote:

HALE-BOPP CO-DISCOVERER PLANS EVENT TO MARK TEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF
COMET
DISCOVERY



This doesn't involve castration while wearing Nike tennis shoes, does
it? ;-)

Pat