Comet Hyakutake on 3/22/96.
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Night of the Comet/NASA
Comet Hyakutake
Comet Hyakutake was found on January 30, 1996 by a Japanese amateur astronomer named Yuji Hyakutake. He spotted it using strong binoculars. The comet was visible from late March until late April, 1996. On March 25, the comet reached its closest approach to Earth of 9.3 million miles.
Comet Hyakutake has probably not approached Earth for thousands of years. Astronomers observing the comet found large quantities of the gases
ethane (C2H6)
and methane (CH4), so far not found in other comets. Astronomers for the first time also observed X-rays being emitted from a comet.
Finding these usual molecules in a comet suggests that comet Hyakutake may be a new type of comet. An abundance of ethane comparable to that of methane implies
that comet Hyakutake must have experienced very different
conditions during its birth than other comets that do not
contain ethane. The newly discovered x-ray emission suggests a sophisticated interaction of this comet with the solar wind.
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