It’s been almost 70 years since the Olbers Comet made its last appearance in the night sky, but stargazers will be in for a show when it reappears next month.
The comet’s full name is Comet 13P/Olbers. It was named after the astronomer who first identified it in 1815, Heinrich Olbers. The comet is currently on a 69-year orbit around our planet and was last seen soaring through the sky in 1956.
According to NASA, the comet is considered a “Near Earth Asteroid” because of how closely it orbits Earth. However, the space agency stressed that it is not considered potentially hazardous.
The comet is expected to come as close as 1.9 astronomical units as it passes by Earth. An astronomical unit is 284 million kilometers, the average distance between the Earth and the sun.
Astronomers shared that the comet is also approaching its closest point to the sun, a little further than the Earth sits at 1.18 astronomical units. It will reach that point on Sunday, June 30, and its closest point to Earth on July 20.
SpaceReference.org reports that the comet was last observed by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center on Sept. 12, 1956. It takes an estimated 25,400 days to complete its entire elliptical orbit.
The comet will begin being visible in the night sky with binoculars on Sunday, according to StarWalk.
It will pass through the bottom of the Lynx constellation and start crossing above Leo Minor in mid-July.