Green Comet Lovejoy To Brighten Skies Until Mid-January 2015

Amateur astronomers are in for a treat even after a once-in-a-lifetime green comet made its closest approach to Earth – an event that will not happen again in 8,000 years.

Comet Lovejoy passed closest to Earth on Wednesday, Jan. 7, when it streaked some 43.6 million miles away. It will still brighten up the sky for a couple more weeks, EarthSky reported.

"Many across the globe have already seen this comet as it has brightened in recent weeks. Plus, the moon is now waning, rising an hour later each evening," the group said.

"Comets tend to brighten as they draw nearer the sun that binds them in orbit. Comet Lovejoy is no exception. Over the past months, it has been getting brighter at it heads toward its January 30 perihelion or closest point to the sun," it added.

The New Year's comet appears as a softly glowing, bluish green ball through a small telescope or binoculars and can be glimpsed as a small smudge of light on a clear dark night with the naked eye, The Telegraph said.

Comet Lovejoy is a big chunk of ice and dust orbiting the sun that belongs to the family of "long period" comets, which means it takes a long time to travel in from the fringes of the Solar System.

Experts claimed that the heavenly body passed through the inner solar system around 11,500 years ago, expecting it not to return for another 8,000 more.

"The gravity of our Solar System's planets is thought to have altered the comet's orbit a bit. Its next return is now being projected for about 8,000 years from now," EarthSky explained.

Terry Lovejoy, a comet-hunter from Birkdale in Queensland, Australia, discovered the comet just before dawn on Aug. 17, 2014 with CCD camera images using a Celestron C-8 telescope. This is his fifth comet discovery since 2007.