There is what some astronomers are calling a “giant” comet hurtling across our sky. You can see it now, and the view could be getting better in the next two weeks.
The comet is called Comet C/2017 K2 and was discovered using the telescope called PanSTARRS. The comet was spotted just five years ago in May 2017, according to NASA.
Brian Ottum, a Michigan astronomer and owner of a telescope in New Mexico, has been photographing the comet. He says this is a comet we will all want to check out.
Ottum tells me C/2017 K2 is heading toward the sun, and coming closer to Earth. The comet will make its closest approach to Earth on July 14. Ottum says what makes this comet fascinating is its size. “The snow-covered-rock nucleus is huge, twice as big as Mt. Everest,” according to Ottum. As it flies closer to the sun, it warms up and the ice evaporates, forming an even bigger fog shroud.
Ottum says the fog you see in this picture is 10 times the size of Earth. The tail is millions of miles long.
The comet can now be seen with binoculars in the southern sky after dark. The best viewing is done out in the countryside, away from city lights.
NASA adds that C/2017 K2, “is on its maiden voyage to the inner Solar System from the dim and distant Oort cloud.” When the comet was discovered, it was the most distant active inbound comet ever found. It was discovered when it was around 1.5 billion miles from the sun, and between Uranus and Saturn. The Hubble Space Telescope indicates the large snowball is about 12 miles across. The tail you will see in binoculars is about 180 million miles away.