<p>Was it <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Hale%E2%80%93Bopp" rel="noreferrer">Comet Hale-Bopp</a>? It was discovered in 1995, but made a very close approach in 1997, earning it the nickname "The Great Comet of 1997".</p>

<p>Wikipedia states</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>As it passed perihelion on April 1, 1997 the comet developed into a spectacular sight. It shone brighter than any star in the sky except Sirius, and its dust tail stretched 40–45 degrees across the sky. The comet was visible well before the sky got fully dark each night, and while many great comets are very close to the Sun as they pass perihelion, comet Hale–Bopp was visible all night to northern hemisphere observers.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Comet-Hale-Bopp-29-03-1997_hires_adj.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Comet-Hale-Bopp-29-03-1997_hires_adj.jpg" alt=""></a>
<br>
<sup>Image courtesy of Wikipedia user LoopZilla under the <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/at/deed.en" rel="noreferrer">Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Austria license</a>.</sup></p>

<p>My second guess is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Hyakutake" rel="noreferrer">Comet Hyakutake</a>, which made an extremely close approach to Earth in 1996 - becoming "The Great Comet of 1996".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-22T02:53:38.687Z
I did some googling and this comet came up too but to be honest I am not sure. I remember it looked like an asteroid though. If a comet were close would you be able to see its tail? Not like in the picture.
NuWin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-22T02:58:49.057Z
@NuWin Do you mean in an approach close to Earth?
HDE 226868
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-22T03:00:39.593Z
Yes. Just imagine your looking at the moon on a clear day. This object was that visible and big.
NuWin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-22T03:06:06.357Z
It could have been Hale-Bopp. Another good candidate is [Hyakutake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Hyakutake), which you might also have heard of.
HDE 226868
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-22T03:09:54.543Z
It is possible. So in conclusion there was no nearby asteroid in the 90s?
NuWin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-22T03:12:41.693Z
@NuWin There were many, but there weren't a lot that would have been as visible as you say.
HDE 226868
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-04-22T03:30:25.050Z
It was Hale-Bopp. I lived in a pretty rural area at the time, and the comet was high in the sky and very easily seen with the naked eye. It was a very classic example of a comet. And though I observed it often with a good pair of binoculars, I never saw the mother ship. Comets are one of the things that a person can live a life time and never see. I'm glad I saw Hale-Bopp, and I hope I get to see another.
Howard Miller
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-03-13T02:03:19.323Z
@NuWin - You wouldn't have seen an asteroid in the '90's, or at any other time, looking like a comet. Asteroids and comets have completely different material compositions. If you were to have seen an actual asteroid that close, it would have made the news like nothing else.
IconDaemon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-22T06:02:43.910Z
yupp. :) I remember it too, and I remember it being announced, and referred to as something that sounded an awful lot like "Hale-Bopp". That is it, and it looked just like that, too. A very strange sight that has an unreal feel looking back on it from now at 28 years (908 Ms) of age, that, sadly, we've never seen repeated.
The_Sympathizer
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-22T01:32:08.377Z
2016-01-23T00:32:15.923Z
2016-01-23T00:32:15.923Z
HDE 226868
<p>I am now in my mid 20s and I remember when I was 6-10 years old, there was a comet or asteroid that flew really close to earth. I remember being able to see the object very clearly as if it were the moon. I also live in the west coast of the United States. What was this object? </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-22T14:34:27.403Z
"I remember being able to see the object very clearly as if it were the moon." - I'm certain no asteroid approach has ever been that large (in modern history, anyway). So I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure you mis-remembered.  But that's OK; you were only six :)  Comet Hale-Bopp might be a possible though, as HDE's answer; it **was** very impressive from a dark sky.
Andy
<asteroids><comets>
What was that Asteroid/Comet in the 90s?
NuWin
# What was that Asteroid/Comet in the 90s?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-01-22)

I am now in my mid 20s and I remember when I was 6-10 years old, there was a comet or asteroid that flew really close to earth. I remember being able to see the object very clearly as if it were the moon. I also live in the west coast of the United States. What was this object?

**Tags:** asteroids, comets

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: "I remember being able to see the object very clearly as if it were the moon." - I'm certain no asteroid approach has ever been that large (in modern history, anyway). So I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure you mis-remembered.  But that's OK; you were only six :)  Comet Hale-Bopp might be a possible though, as HDE's answer; it **was** very impressive from a dark sky.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-01-22. Score: 10 | Accepted answer

Was it [Comet Hale-Bopp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Hale%E2%80%93Bopp)? It was discovered in 1995, but made a very close approach in 1997, earning it the nickname "The Great Comet of 1997".

Wikipedia states

> As it passed perihelion on April 1, 1997 the comet developed into a spectacular sight. It shone brighter than any star in the sky except Sirius, and its dust tail stretched 40–45 degrees across the sky. The comet was visible well before the sky got fully dark each night, and while many great comets are very close to the Sun as they pass perihelion, comet Hale–Bopp was visible all night to northern hemisphere observers.

[![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Comet-Hale-Bopp-29-03-1997_hires_adj.jpg)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Comet-Hale-Bopp-29-03-1997_hires_adj.jpg)
  
Image courtesy of Wikipedia user LoopZilla under the [Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Austria license](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/at/deed.en).

My second guess is [Comet Hyakutake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Hyakutake), which made an extremely close approach to Earth in 1996 - becoming "The Great Comet of 1996".

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I did some googling and this comet came up too but to be honest I am not sure. I remember it looked like an asteroid though. If a comet were close would you be able to see its tail? Not like in the picture.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 Do you mean in an approach close to Earth?  
> **username_0**: Yes. Just imagine your looking at the moon on a clear day. This object was that visible and big.  
> **username_2**: It could have been Hale-Bopp. Another good candidate is [Hyakutake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Hyakutake), which you might also have heard of.  
> **username_0**: It is possible. So in conclusion there was no nearby asteroid in the 90s?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 There were many, but there weren't a lot that would have been as visible as you say.  
> **username_3**: It was Hale-Bopp. I lived in a pretty rural area at the time, and the comet was high in the sky and very easily seen with the naked eye. It was a very classic example of a comet. And though I observed it often with a good pair of binoculars, I never saw the mother ship. Comets are one of the things that a person can live a life time and never see. I'm glad I saw Hale-Bopp, and I hope I get to see another.  
> **username_4**: @username_0 - You wouldn't have seen an asteroid in the '90's, or at any other time, looking like a comet. Asteroids and comets have completely different material compositions. If you were to have seen an actual asteroid that close, it would have made the news like nothing else.  
> **username_5**: yupp. :) I remember it too, and I remember it being announced, and referred to as something that sounded an awful lot like "Hale-Bopp". That is it, and it looked just like that, too. A very strange sight that has an unreal feel looking back on it from now at 28 years (908 Ms) of age, that, sadly, we've never seen repeated.  

---

