Thomas Joel Bopp (October 15, 1949 – January 5, 2018) was an American amateur astronomer. In 1995, he discovered comet Hale–Bopp; Alan Hale discovered it independently at almost the same time, and it was thus named after both of them. At the time of the comet discovery he was a manager at a construction materials factory and an amateur astronomer. On the night of July 22, Bopp was observing the sky with friends in the Arizona desert when he made the discovery. It was the first comet he had observed and he was using a borrowed, home-built telescope. Early life and education Thomas Bopp was born October 15, 1949 in Denver, Colorado. The following year his family relocated to Youngstown, Ohio. It was there that, at the age of three, his father Frank Bopp introduced him to astronomy on the porch steps of the family home as they watched a meteor shower. Frank began to teach him about planets, constellations and the aurora borealis. At the age of ten he received his first telescope, a four-inch reflector. Bopp attended Chaney High School and graduated in 1967. He joined the United States Air Force and served in the Philippines where several times he observed the green flash, an optical phenomenon which occurs just before sunset above the setting sun. After 18 months of service he was moved to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, where he met his wife-to-be Charlotte. He left the air force in 1972. The couple soon married and had a daughter, April. Bopp then attended Youngstown State University and studied business administration. While attending the university, he had access to the physics and astronomy departments and took their classes as part of the elective elements of his education. It was here he met Yale University astrophysicist Dr. Edwin Bishop and Youngstown State emeritus professor of Astronomy Dr. Warren Young, who encouraged him to join the Mahoning Valley Astronomical Society (MVAS) in Warren, Ohio. He regularly attended meetings and became friends with astronaut Ronald A. Parise and enjoyed observing deep sky objects with the club's 16" Newtonian reflector telescope. Discovery of comet Hale–Bopp In 1980 Bopp moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to work in the parts department of a construction company and continued to attend astronomy clubs in the local area. He joined the North Phoenix Alternative Astronomical Society, an unofficial group of enthusiasts founded by Kevin Gill