Remember the Hale-Bopp Comet back in 1997? Well, there’s another more recently discovered comet that is coming close to Earth, supposedly three times as bright and the best opportunity to see one like it in 32 years:
The newly discovered comet, first observed in Australia last August, is three times more dazzling than Hale-Bopp in 1997.
It is officially the brightest since Comet West in 1975.
Tomorrow the star will sweep within 15.8 million miles of the sun and continue glowing until Monday.
It is visible to the right of Venus soon after sunset and also in the dawn sky to the south-east.
‘Make an effort even if the weather prospects look poor,’ said Nick James of the British Astronomical Association.
I saw this last night and thought to myself “Wow, Venus is pretty bright… or is that a plane?”
Nope, it’s a comet, and it’s pretty darned cool. You’ll need a very flat horizon (or a hill) to see the comet, but it should be the brightest object in the evening sky.
UPDATE: For easy evening viewing instructions, click here. For morning instructions, click here.
