It's April 1st, 1997 in Echo Bay, New York.

The light is It's April 1st, 1997 in Echo Bay, New York.

The light is fading as a pair of teenage boys,

Alan and Thomas Morgan push a dinghy across the sand

towards the water's edge. With a final grunt, the brothers shoved the boat into the small bay.

Alan is the older of the two, and he holds the dinghy steady,

Mount Thomas jumps in, then Alan climbs on board himself.

Alan grabs the oars and starts rolling.

The brothers want to get away from the lights of the town and the trees that crowd around the shoreline.

That's because the further they are from land, the better their view will be of the Hale-Bopp comet.

The comet was discovered by two different astronomers in the summer of

1995 and ever since then it's been growing brighter in the night sky.

And now tonight as the comet has reached the closest point to the sun in its orbit, those watching

on Earth have been treated to a spectacular site.

But between bad weather and school commitments taking up the brother's time, Alan and Thomas

haven't had a chance to get out in their family

boat until now.

Thirteen-year-old Thomas is an amateur photographer, but wants to get a shot of the comet

over the water with the local lighthouse in the background.

Tonight may be his last chance.

The comet will start fading soon, and once it travels far enough to disappear from sight,

no human alive today will ever see Hale Bob again.

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