This July, a gigantic comet will make its closest pass by Earth, where it has been headed for the last five years.
The comet C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS), often called K2 for short, was first spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2017 on its voyage to our solar system from the distant Oort Cloud, according to NASA.
At the time, it was the most distant active inbound comet ever discovered, when it was around 2.4 billion kilometers from the sun.
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The exact size of K2 is disputed. Research from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope estimated that the comet's nucleus has a radius between 14-80 kilometers (or 9-50 miles), while the Hubble Space Telescope also observed that K2 has a nucleus around 18 kilometers (or around 11 miles) in diameter.
The length of K2's tail is a monster though, measuring around 800,000 kilometers, or around 500,000 miles long.
K2's closest approach to Earth will be July 14, when it will come within 270 million kilometers of our planet. Its closest approach to the sun will be in December.
How and when to watch K2 pass by Earth
Although the K2 comet is large, it will be too far away to observe with the naked eye. Darker skies (which allow for better contrast) and a telescope will help you see K2 in action.
It first became visible from the Northern Hemisphere in May, and is expected to remain visible through September, when it will be more easily spotted from the Southern Hemisphere.
If you want to watch K2 on July 14, the Virtual Telescope Project will host a livestream, beginning at 6:15 p.m. ET.
What is a comet?
According to NASA, comets are frozen leftovers from the formation of the solar system and are composed of dust, rock and ice. Their sizes can range greatly, from a few miles to tens of miles wide.
As they orbit closer to the sun, they heat up, forming a tail of gases and dust that can stretch millions of miles and forming a head that can be larger than a planet.
There are currently 3,743 known comets, although there are likely billions orbiting the sun in the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud.
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