April Fools' Day Comet 2017
Don't Miss Your Chance to See a Comet Fly Across the Sky This Weekend
Every five and a half years, a relatively small comet grazes across the Earth's skyline, and this weekend is your chance to see it. On Saturday, April 1, a comet known as 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresák will make its closest flyby in the northern sky at approximately 9 p.m. ET. According to ScienceAlert, the comet will be too small to be spotted with the naked eye, so now would be a great time to pull out those old binoculars or telescopes so you can witness the epic event yourself.
No need to worry about the comet crashing into Earth, either. According to EarthSky.org, the comet, which was first discovered in 1858, will travel at a safe distance from Earth, at around 13.2 million miles away. 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresák will be best visible for those in the Northern Hemisphere looking toward the handle of the Big Dipper.
"Usually it appears in the night sky as a diffuse blob of light," ScienceAlert wrote on its website. If you already threw out your childhood sky-watching material, you can visit Slooh.com at 8:30 p.m. ET on April 1 to watch a live stream of the comet from the Canary Islands.
