How (and When) to Watch the Massive Comet K2 Fly Past the Earth
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What is K2?
Comet C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS) – or “K2” for short – was first discovered five years ago in May 2017 by the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA reports . The agency shared an image of the comet taken on June 20, 2022. , when it was (relatively) near the open star cluster IC 4665 and the bright star Beta Ophiuchus, near the Milky Way’s stellar edge.
This is the first time Comet K2 has made its way into the solar system from the dim and distant Oort cloud , NASA explains. When it was first observed in May 2017, it was the furthest active comet ever discovered, about 2.4 billion kilometers from the Sun, between the orbital distances of Uranus and Saturn.
How big is K2?
When Comet K2 first became visible with the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists estimated that its nucleus was almost 11 miles in diameter. But, according to research from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope , the comet’s nucleus is estimated to be within a radius of 9 to 50 miles. Either way, it’s pretty damn big.
And that’s not counting the size of K2’s tail – the trail of gases and dust behind the comet – also known as the “coma”. Preliminary estimates put K2’s tail at 81,000 to 500,000 miles in diameter. From some point of view, this is somewhere between the width of one and six Jupiters.
When will K2 be visible?
Your best chance to see Comet K2 will be on the night of July 14, when it will make its closest approach to Earth. Even though the comet is huge, you will probably need at least a small telescope to spot the comet. Look for a fuzzy spot of light (this is the tail).
If you’d rather watch the comet pass Earth from the comfort of your own home, the Virtual Telescope Project will be streaming it live starting July 14 at 6:15 pm. But don’t worry too much if you miss K2 on the 14th – should be visible through a telescope until September .
It is closest to the Sun in December.