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On July 23rd, 1995, two men in two different states looked up to the same sky and discovered the very same thing.

Alan Hale in New Mexico and Thomas Bop in Arizona spotted a comet that was not listed on any of the sky charts that they had.

Both of them reported their observation to the International Astronomical Union and both were credited with discovering C1995-01 or what is now known as the Hale Bop Comet.

Because the comet was so bright, it could be seen with a regular telescope. And at that time, it was the farthest comet ever to be discovered by amateurs.

And for 18 months, you did not even need a telescope to see Hale Bop. It was astonishingly bright, making it visible to the naked eye.

In November of 1996, an amateur astronomer in Houston, Texas, took a picture of the comet that revealed a long fuzzy object that appeared to be following the Hale Bop.

He claimed that he had discovered a quote, Saturn-like object, which UFO enthusiasts declared was an alien spacecraft following the comet.

One group of believers were following the path of the comet very carefully and were confident that it was not just an alien spacecraft.

It was their ticket to heaven. And in March of 1997, as the comet soared closest to Earth, 39 women and men drank a deadly cocktail of phenobarbital and vodka.

And dreamed of leaving their body and ascending to the ship. They were determined to catch their ride, even if they had to die to do it.

Well done. You've sorted through the embarrassment of riches that is the modern podcast landscape and found me Rob Briden on my podcast.

In this series of Briden and I talk to among others, Harry Hill, Ben Elton, Charlotte Church, Steve Cougan and Dame Harriet Walter. And that's just a few.

We tend to chat for about 45 minutes to an hour, never longer. It's terrific conversation, reminiscent, sweat appropriate and exchange of anecdotes.

So do join me Rob Briden wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes of Briden and are available early and ad free on Amazon Music or by subscribing to Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts or the Wondery app.

From Wondery and Tree Fort, I'm Candice DeLong and this is the second season of Killer Sighting.

I've spent five decades studying people's minds through my work as an FBI profiler and psychiatric nurse.

I've interviewed lots of murderers, including serial killers. And the question of why they did it is what I get asked time and time again.

It is difficult to get a satisfying answer without diving deep into their mindsets. So that's what we're doing. And I will give you my best analysis in this series of what made them do what they did.

This episode is Heaven's Gate.

In the upscale San Diego neighborhood of Rancho Santa Fe, 39 members of a religious group known after many name changes as Heaven's Gate were hard at work filming videos for their family and friends.

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