On the cover: Hale-Bopp over the Sierra. The comet passes over the California mountain range in April. (Andy Castellano)

We're returning to Mars this month. NASA's Mars Pathfinder is scheduled to land on the surface of the Red Planet on July 4, ending a two-decade absence from our curious neighbor.

Hale-Bopp Over America
As we say hello again to Mars, we bid farewell to Hale-Bopp — for much longer than 20 years, too. The comet is speeding away from us now and will continue to do so for the next two millenia. Its visit, though brief, lived up to the advanced billing for scientists and backyard stargazers alike. The comet offered something for everyone, and we tried to capture that in a photo gallery.

The Search for the Heliopause
Hale-Bopp won't be alone as it retreats to the nether regions of the solar system. As Robert Zimmerman explains in this issue's feature article, "The Search for the Heliopause," the Pioneer and Voyager probes launched in the 1970s also occupy the outskirts of the solar system beyond Pluto and Neptune. As they speed toward the edge of the solar wind, called the heliopause, one has the chance to become the first spacecraft to describe for us the realm of interstellar space.

AstroNews: Pathfinder update, gamma-ray burter clues

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