Rare giant comet making ‘close approach’ to Earth this month – how to watch
A RARE comet will enter our inner solar system this month – here's how you can see it.
Astronomy lovers may get to see one of the largest known comets shoot past the night sky on the evening of July 14.
Designated C/2017 K2, this comet will be shooting into our inner solar system at a speed of around 615 km/sec.
However, even at its nearest point to Earth, it will still be far away enough that you will likely need a telescope to see it.
Comet C/2017 K2
C/2017 K2, one of the largest comets we've ever observed, was discovered in May 2017 by the Pan-STARRS survey instrument based in Hawaii.
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It was around 2.4 billion km from the Sun at that point – though K2 has been travelling for millions of years from its home in the Oort Cloud.
The Oort Cloud is a region at the edge of our solar system that contains hundreds of billions of comets.
Nasa has revealed that K2's tail is between 81,000 and 500,000 miles wide – that's the size of between one to six Jupiters.
Since July 2007, the comet has been in the constellation of Draco, around 309 light-years from Earth.
What is a comet?
Comets are "cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock and dust", according to .
Nasa's website might share the comet's orbit as well.
If you are an amateur astronomer and own a small telescope, you might be able to view it on your own.
It's best to see it on July 14 – however, the comet will still be visible until September in the Northern Hemisphere.
After Mid-September, the comet will move to the hemisphere's southwestern horizon.
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It's important to note that if you are interested in seeing K2, then 2022 is the only year this is possible.
This is due to the comet's long orbit – which means it won't approach Earth again for a few million years.