Every five-and-a-quarter years, a comet with a blueish-green tinge flies through the solar system close enough to be seen from Earth.
This weekend, it make its closest approach in more than 30 years – coming within 7.5 million miles of our planet.
It’s named Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková after the astronomers who discovered it in 1948 – Minoru Honda, Antonín Mrkos, and Ľudmila Pajdušáková.
But this amazing event is not even going to be the weeks rarest.
Starting early Friday evening, a penumbral lunar eclipse will begin. That means that the sun, moon and earth all line up and cast a strange effect on the moon.
The recommendation for backyard astronomers is to use binoculars or a telescope to look for the comet several times during the coming days, NASA said.
Discovered in 1948, 45P is a short-period comet, with an orbit that takes it around the sun and out by Jupiter about every 5-1/4 years.
This weekend’s encounter will be the comet’s closest with Earth – passing by at a distance of about 12.4 million kilometres — through the end of this century.
The comet will pass by our planet again in 2032 but will be much farther away – at a distance of nearly about 48 million kilometres.
Rare green comet and lunar eclipse occur on same night HD
None of the events will be quite as spectacular as the huge total solar eclipse that will be visible across the US on 21 August. That will be the first time such an event has happened in 99 years, and may see the biggest movement of people ever.
Did you witness these amazing events? Please comment with your images and stories below!
Sources: News.18, Independent, Mirror
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