What started as a tiny smudge of light near Jupiter in early 2021 became the brightest comet of the year as we near January once again. And now is precisely prime time for viewing this celestial visitor from afar as it makes its pre-Christmas Earth appearance along its parade route to the Sun.
This ball of frozen gas and dust, with its white oblong core, emits a marvelous greenish glow and a signature comet tail. As it is increasingly warmed by the Sun’s light, the amorphous, fuzzy object sheds its vapor across the solar system like lingering fireworks.
