Rare comet set to be visible from Earth for first time
8 years, 3 months ago

Rare comet set to be visible from Earth for first time

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A rare comet is set to be visible from Earth for the first time in what could be millions of years, Nasa has announced. The comet, named C/2016 U1 NEOWISE, will be close enough to Earth between now and 14 January to potentially be seen in the night sky with binoculars or even the naked eye. Paul Chodas, manager of Nasa’s Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies, said: " has a good chance of becoming visible through a good pair of binoculars, although we can't be sure because a comet's brightness is notoriously unpredictable." C/2016 U1 has an orbit that could take millions of years, meaning this could be the first and last time it gets so close to Earth.

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