Pre-perihelion CCD photometry of Comet 1995 01 (Hale-Bopp)

Systematic CCD photometry of Comet 1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) began in early August 1995 shortly after its discovery (IAU Circular 6187) and continued until mid-November 1996. The light curve derived from a 34″ square centered on the nucleus shows clearly and objectively how the inner regions of the comet brightened during this 15 month period. Possible connections between sudden brightenings and reported outbursts are investigated. During the interval August–December 1995, the magnitude of the comet showed strong evidence of a periodicity of 20±5 days with a full amplitude of approximately 0.20 mag. It is noteworthy that this result spans both the period of 18 days suggested by Sekanina (1995, 1996) and the “superperiod” of 22±2 days reported by Jorda et al. (1997). However, in 1996 neither this periodicity nor any other could be detected with certainty in the photometric data.