The comet 46 P/Wirtanen will pass very close to earth this weekend and during its closest approach on Sunday,  will be visible to the naked eye (under extremely dark skies).

The 46P/Wirtanen comet will come within 11.5 million kilometres from earth’s surface, making it one of the 10 closest comet approaches since 1950 and the 20th closest approach of a comet dating as far back as the ninth century.

First discovered by American Astronomer Carl Wirtanen in California on January 17, 1948, 46P/Wirtanen is one of the 10 recorded comets to have made very close approaches to earth.

Only a few of these comets – including 46P/Wirtanen – were bright enough to be seen with the naked eye.
It’s part of a group called the Jupiter group of comets, because it extends out almost to Jupiter’s orbit, astronomer Professor Fred Watson told 9Honey Travel.
The Wirtanen comet comes up every 5.4 years but when you wrap the earth’s orbit into that, it appears in our skies much more infrequently. But the best part is that it’s around Christmas, and is going to be relatively bright.

 The last time this particular comet came this close to the earth’s surface was 70 years ago.

To spot the comet, “follow [the constellation] Orion’s arm through his bow to the right and look for a fuzzy blob that is green compared to the stars around it,” Dennis Bodewits, an astrophysicist from Auburn University, told Space.com.

The comet will  be at its closest to earth at around 3 pm on December 16.

In-Cyprus