Science & Environment

Science & Environment

From landfills and laboratories to archeological digs and deep space

This comet wants to be seen

If you were to pick a month in which to look up from your iPhone and scan the night skies for something meaningful, March is that month.

Seeing something as cool as a comet with the naked eye is a pretty rare event. And comet 2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) is a pretty rare ice ball.

This astronomical bad boy will make itself known several times this month. NASA has a nifty page set up with dates during which viewing is optimal. Click here to see it.

What is a comet, you ask?



Are we in danger? Not really. Most comets travel a safe distance from the sun. Some, however, called sun-grazers, crash straight into the sun or get so close that they break up and evaporate.