Word: cometed
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...entrepreneurs' starry-eyed projections are correct, by 1986 revenues for the entire industry could top $500 million. Comet, the familiar household cleanser, is sensibly considering an ad campaign based on Halley's. Retailers, ever alert for novelty, have been drawn irresistibly toward an event that occurs only once every 75 years. Declares Owen Ryan, president of General Comet Industries in New York: "It's the celestial version of the Olympics...
Companies that began as a whim or a part-time venture are scrambling to fill orders. General Comet Industries, which licenses a comet logo, has enticed nearly a dozen businesses to slap the trademark onto products such as running shoes and cocktail mixes. General Comet also sells its own paraphernalia, including elegantly engraved "comet stock" certificates at a mere $9.95 per 100 shares. "We started this as a lighthearted spoof," says Ryan, "but the response has been overwhelming." Two years ago, a pair of air-traffic controllers in Albuquerque launched Astroline Products, selling Halley's pins, caps and traveling bags...
These heavenly revenue trends are not confined to trinkets. Sales in telescopes have risen almost 50% in the past twelve months, as would-be astronomers plunk down anywhere from $100 to $8,500 per instrument. Says Kim Davey of Celestron International, an optical-instruments firm in Torrance, Calif.: "The comet is an excuse for people to buy the telescope they've always wanted." American Express is offering a $799 telescope "for Halley's comet and beyond," which can be paid for in monthly installments of $39.95. Burton Rubin, who made a fortune in the '70s on his E-Z Wider...
Scientists are afraid that the relentless Halley's mania is bound to result in disappointment. At its closest, in March, the comet will still be 40 million miles away. Halley's may appear to stretch the length of the Big Dipper but probably will not be as bright. Scientists cannot predict the luminosity because each time the comet whips past the sun, it sheds varying amounts of the ice and dust that form its glowing tail. "All this hype is making people think they're going to see a massive apparition that will scare dogs and old ladies," says...
Astronomers are excited about the comet not because of what they will observe from the ground but because of the five space probes launched since last year by Europe, Japan and the Soviet Union. The European craft will approach to within 300 miles of the comet's nucleus. A March mission of the space shuttle will be dedicated entirely to Halley's experiments. A battery of cameras, telescopes and mass spectrometers will analyze the comet's 30 million-to-70 million-mile tail and will seek to probe its mysterious, icy heart, which may hold clues to the origin...