Great Comets by Robert Burnham, Cambridge, 拢14.95, ISBN
0521646006
GREAT comets are spectacular by any standards. With their brilliant heads and
long, gleaming tails, it is no surprise that they caused widespread alarm in
ancient times鈥攁nd to a certain extent still do today.
Two bright comets appeared during the closing years of the 20th century:
Hyakutake in 1996 and Hale-Bopp in 1997. Burnham deals with these in detail and
gives briefer accounts of earlier great comets and a great deal of miscellaneous
information. The main strength of this book is in the photographs, which are
well chosen and beautifully produced.
Advertisement
I had earmarked this book for my own 鈥淐hristmas reading鈥�. Now that I have
digested it, I am well satisfied.