Newly Discovered Comet Will Pass Close to Earth in March

A newly discovered comet could pass within 10 million miles of Earth in late March and might be bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, according to astronomers. “Comets are hard to predict, but this one could be very good for the Northern Hemisphere” because it will pass close to the celestial North Pole, said Brian G. Marsden, director of the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams at the International Astronomical Union in Cambridge, Mass. The comet will appear nearly overhead in the sky in late March and during much of April, he said.

The hurtling cluster of ice and dust is officially designated Comet 1996 B2, but will likely be known as Comet Hyakutake. It was discovered Feb. 1 by Yuji Hyakutake, an amateur astronomer in Japan who spotted it with 25 x 150 binoculars.