It looks like we might finally have a decent comet hanging in the skies, in the spring of next year. The last naked-eye one I can recall is way back in boyhood. I vaguely recall that it failed to impress.

Currently hurtling toward the inner Solar System is a comet at least twice the size of the earth’s prehistoric ‘dinosaur killer’ comet. “Will Fly by the Earth and Will Be Visible in the Night Sky” in April 2024, and perhaps into June. It will appear low in the sky (but still above treetops and buildings), if observers look in a East-North-East direction. Which means it won’t be hanging in front of my windows, regrettably, and will be masked by the glow of Hanley.

The Comet (’12P Pons-Brooks’) will not impact the Earth, and calculations show that at the exact orbit-passing time… “the Earth will be safely tucked away on the other side of the Sun”. Good to know.