How (and When) to Watch the Massive K2 Comet Pass Earth

Affirmative.

What is K2?

The Hubble Space Telescope spotted the comet C/2017 K2 in May of last year. The comet was close to an open star cluster and a bright star when it was captured by the agency.

This is the first time the K2 comet has traveled from the Oort cloud to the Solar System. It was the most distant comet ever discovered, between the distances of the Sun and the planets.

How big is K2?

Scientists estimated that the comet had a nucleus that was 11 miles in diameter when it was first seen. The comet's nucleus is estimated to be between nine and 50 miles in diameter. It is pretty darn large.

The comet's tail is also known as a "coma." The estimate is that K2's tail is between 81,000 and 500,000 miles. It is somewhere between the width of a single Jupiter and six Jupiters.

When will K2 be visible?

The night of July 14th will be the best time to see the comet. You will probably need a small telescope to spot the comet. A fuzzy patch of light is what you should look for.

The comet will be live-streamed by the Virtual Telescope Project on July 14 at 6.15pm. You should be able to see K2 with a telescope until September.

In December, it will be closest to the Sun.