Comets to Pass Earth This Week Will Set Proximity Record

Twin comets passing exceptionally close to Earth this week have grabbed the attention of stargazers.

The first comet, the emerald-green Comet 252P/LINEAR, was set to pass the Earth on Monday, visible from the southern hemisphere, Fox News reported.

The second comet, Comet P/2016 BA14, is set to pass the Earth on Tuesday about 2.2 million miles away, and could be the third-closest comet to pass the Earth in recorded history.

Even though the comets are near, viewing them requires powerful, professional-grade telescopes because of their small size. However, astronomers considered a distant glimpse of the larger 252P possible with binoculars.

"It's a fantastic opportunity for professionals to learn more about comets, and if you have a chance to try to find them ... It's a fantastic chance to see part of history as it happens," said astronomer Michael Kelley of the University of Maryland.

The smaller Comet P/2016 BA14, discovered in January, may have broken off the larger comet, according to NASA.   

“The two could be related because their orbits are so remarkably similar," Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Center of NEO Studies at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement. "We know comets are relatively fragile things.”

The two comets may both have broken from an even larger comet, USA Today reported.

“Comets split relatively often, but we rarely get a chance to study them soon after it happens, and when we do usually only the bigger fragment survives. …We have two fragments in this case,” the University of Maryland’s Matthew Knight said.

Scientists, who will study the comets with help from the Hubble Space Telescope, said there is no cause for concern that about the comets colliding with Earth, The Christian Science Monitor reported.

Related Stories:

• Comet, Mars in a Near Miss That Gives NASA a Spectacular Show
• Philae Lander Discovers That Comet Could Be Home to Alien Life