The Christmas Comet Is Closest To Earth In Seven Decades
On December 16th the Christmas comet, or Comet 46P/Wirtanen, made one of the 10 closest flybys to Earth in seven decades, NASA reported.
"Close," of course, should be thought of loosely when space is involved, since it was still 30 moons away-AKA 7.1 million miles from Earth. According to Paul Chodas, manager of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Comet Wirtanen won’t come this close again for centuries, so this is literally your only chance to see it this close in your lifetime.
Hey sky watchers, it's a good time to try to catch a #comet. 46P/Wirtanen will make one of the 10 closest comet flybys in the past 70 years, and you may even be able to see it without a telescope. More about the comet: https://t.co/2oLmcRu0OQ
Viewing tips: https://t.co/0bsSfKi9O6 pic.twitter.com/hLiuWcKyrr- NASA Solar System (@NASASolarSystem) December 17, 2018
Though it reached its closest distance on Sunday night, there's still a chance in case you missed it, like I did. The bright green comet that conveniently made its appearance just ahead of the holidays-and came to be known as the Christmas comet-will continue to be visible for several more days from some locations worldwide, National Public Radio confirms.
NPR describes the comet as "unusually bright relative to its normal appearance, but it's a small comet without much of a tail, and it might be difficult to spot." For this reason, it is suggested that viewers look from the darkest locations possible and use binoculars.
To see where the Christmas comet is located today, check out EarthSky or University of Maryland's charts, which show the comet's daily position in the sky. Then, don't forget to contribute your observations to U of Maryland's research, because you know what they say: "If you see something, say something."
Oh, and if you can't get somewhere to view it, tune into The Virtual Telescope Project 2.0's live stream on December 18, 2018, at 5 p.m. EST. You can thank me later.
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