Comet named after Wisconsin astronomer to pass by Earth

 

December 12, 2018



MILWAUKEE (AP) — A comet named after a Wisconsin astronomer will soon streak past Earth and be the brightest comet of the year.

Comet 46P/Wirtanen will fly by Earth in the next week, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported . It will be one of the closest comet flybys since the 1950s, but will look like a dim blur of glowing gray light.

"It will be very diffused, a spread-out graying glow," said Jim Lattis, director of University of Wisconsin Space Place, UW-Madison's astronomy outreach center. "You'll see green colors, which is mostly caused by carbon, only if you're taking photos or you've go...



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