Rare green comet to pass by Earth Wednesday — JAS

AMMAN — A rare green comet is due to make its closest pass by Earth on Wednesday, Jordanian Astronomical Society (JAS) President Ammar Sakaji said on Monday.

Sakaji said that the comet will come within 42 million kilometres of Earth on Wednesday before speeding away again, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

At a speed of around 57 kilometres per second, the comet will be “very easy” to spot with binoculars and telescopes, while it might be invisible to the naked eye due to light pollution, Sakaji said. Based on scientific journals, the green comet will return to approach Earth after 50,000 years, he said, adding that accurate calculations at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory indicate that the orbit of this comet will be open, making it unlikely to return for millions of years.

The astrologists indicated that the comet, found north of the planetarium in the Camelopardalis constellation, will be monitored an hour after sunset until 5:30am.