Giant comet is now visible, here’s how to see it

Mlive ^ | Jun. 30, 2022, 1:46 p.m. | By Mark Torregrossa

[BenLurkin]

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...

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.

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.

[BenLurkin]

Path of C/2017 K2 in the sky

[packagingguy]

So how will the Heavens Gate crowd respond? Oh wait, they’re dead. Never mind.

[TigersEye]

It was discovered May 2017 when it was around 1.5 billion miles from the sun, and between Uranus and Saturn. It’s hard to believe it has taken five years to travel to the inner Solar system from between Uranus and Saturn.

[DannyTN]

When Frost Giants Attack!!!

[Repeal The 17th]

“...in the southern sky after dark...”
-
All I can see from here in that direction is trees.

[dfwgator]

Ted Koppel: Uh-huh.. alright. So, this whole killing yourself thing has really turned out to be a home run for you. Tell me, are there any regrets?

Marshall Applewhite: Yeahhh.. the castration thing.. I was way off on that one, Ted! It turns out it had nothing to do with anything. In fact, when we got here, everyone just looked at me like, “Applewhite, you nutball!”

[ZOOKER]

I'm no astrophysicist (obviously) so I don't understand how it makes this corkscrew pattern.
Can anyone explain?

[rlmorel]

Hahahahaha

[Osage Orange]

It’s opening a giant bottle of wine.............I think.

[BenLurkin]

Could maybe get a glimpse if I drove thirty or so miles into the stretch of nothingness which my hovel just about borders, but there are people in that nothing which mostly come out at night, and I don’t want to meet them.

[texas booster]

That is the view of the comet if you were to view it continuously from Earth.

The corkscrews are from the yearly progression of the Earth around the Sun.

All About Parallax

The small spirals show just how far away it used to be, and will eventually become.

[Obadiah]

Pfffft... wake me up when one is heading for DC.

[Seruzawa]

[China Clipper]

Lucifer's Hammer.

A great read, about the comet "that couldn't hit us.".....

[dsrtsage]

[RandallFlagg]

Go home comet. You're drunk!

[rigelkentaurus]

In January, it might be Mag 5.

[Rebelbase]

Would be cool if it was a surprise big deal in the night sky to make up for the disappointment of Haley’s Comet back in the 80s.

[Larry Lucido]

Now we have a choice.