Hale-Bopp Update: Comet Hale-Bopp has likely peaked in brightness, reaching near magnitude -1.0. The comet passed perihelion, the closest point in its orbit to the Sun, on April 1, and is beginning its long voyage into the outer solar system. Observers in mid-northern latitudes have only a few more weeks to observe the comet before it sinks below the horizon. Observations of the comet taken by astronomers at Lowell Observatory back in 1995 show the comet was producing cyanogen gas even when it was farther from the Sun than Jupiter, which suggests that the production of that gas may come from another mechanism than just solar heating of comet ices.

Obituary: Martin Schwarzschild: Princeton University astronomer Martin Schwarzschild passed away April 10 at the age of 84. Schwarzschild worked with Princeton colleague Lyman Spitzer (who passed away at the end of March) to develop plans for orbiting space telescopes, and designed two telescopes lofted into the stratosphere by balloons. He also studied stellar structure and helped pioneer the use of digital computers in scientific research. His father, Karl Schwarzschild, was a famed German astrophysicist who died during World War I.

Explain That to Your Insurance Company: A car in the French town of Chambery suddenly caught fire on April 11. While firefighters extinguished the blaze, they noticed a small rock under the car and a hole through the car. The rock turned out to be a basaltic meteorite a little more than a kilogram (2.2 pounds) in mass. The meteor apparently struck the car and set off the fire. One firefighter described small pieces of black ice on the meteorite which were melting when it was discovered.

Space Humor: The White House took a lighthearted approach to word of an impending solar storm. During an April 9 press conference, White House spokesman Mike McCurry joked that solar flares could "evaporate John Sununu or Geraldine Ferraro," co-hosts's of the CNN talk show Crossfire. McCurry also said solar flares could disrupt cellular phone communications, so "you better be careful. If you're on a cell phone, you might all of sudden end up connected to Congressman McDermott," a reference to a cellular phone call that included House Speaker Newt Gingrich that was intercepted and taped by a Florida couple and sent to Rep. Jim McDermott... NASA flight controllers helped cheer up the crew on the shuttle Columbia after the mission was shortened by faxing up a top ten list of reasons why the mission was ending early. Among the reasons were "Crew forgot to do their taxes before they left," "NASA TV ratings were low," and the number one reason, "Four Words: Out of Colombian Coffee."