Thomas Bopp

Who is Thomas Bopp?

Thomas J. Bopp D.Sc is best known as co-discoverer of Comet Hale–Bopp in 1995. He was a manager at a construction materials factory and an amateur astronomer at the time of the comet discovery. It was the first comet he had observed.

He was born in Denver, Colorado, USA, but later relocated with his family to Youngstown, Ohio, where he graduated from Chaney High School in 1967. He is a Life member of the Mahoning Valley Astronomical Society where he fell in love with the deep sky while observing with the club's 16 inch reflecting telescope. He attended Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio, and has lived in Tucson, Arizona since 1980.