Comet Hale Bopp was discovered in July, 1995, by two amateur astronomers who were working 1000 kilometers away.  Neither of the two knew that each other had discovered it at the same time, but nevertheless, it because a giant discovery in the astronomy field.  Hale Bopp was 1000 times brighter than Halley, and was the brightest in the western sky since 1976.  The comet is on a 2,000-3,000 year orbit around the sun, and was the proving factor in astronomer, Edmund Halley's, theory on orbits and periods. As the comet progresses around its orbit, it is reportedly slowing down, as well as getting dimmer.  Scientists are going to keep track of it as long as possible before it finally disappears into its long journey.

Comet Shoemaker was remarkable because as it approached Jupiter's gravity in 1992, it broke into 21 pieces.  The pieces did not hit its surface until 1994. The bombardment of the 21 pieces lasted for a week, some pieces reaching speeds of 210,000k/hr (130,000 mph).  Because of the intense heat and speed, some of the smaller pieces turned into massive explosions that formed fireballs larger than earth.

This comet was discovered in Japan on January 30, 1996, by a man named Yuji Hyakutake using only a pair of 25 X 150 binoculars.  On March 25, it passed only 9.3 million miles from earth, and in space distance, that is barely making it by. It reached the brightness of a star(approximately zero degree magnitude at the end of March 1996).  It was visible to the naked eye until the end of April 1996.  When Yuji was asked about the naming of the comet, his response was, "I don't care about the naming of the comet.  If many people could enjoy that comet, that is the happiest thing for me."