Comet Pan-STARRS Debuts Across the Sky in Spectacle Visible with Naked Eye Tonight

The first of two bright comets predicted for the year will be putting on a spectacle visible to the naked eye tonight for sky observers in the Northern Hemisphere. Scientists say though that the best dates to view the Comet Pan-STARRS will be Mar. 12 and 13, when the very thin crescent Moon will serve as a viewing guide.

The Comet Pan-STARRS gets its name from the telescope credited with discovering it in June 2001: the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System in Hawaii. This is the first time this comet has dropped into the inner solar system.

"Although we have discovered many comets with the telescope, so far this is the only one likely to be seen by eye," says Professor Alan Fitzsimmons of Queen's University Belfast, and one of the Pan-STARRS project leaders, according to TG Daily. "Comets can be quite beautiful and for that reason alone it's worth making the effort to see them."

After months appearing in the Southern Hemisphere night sky, Comet Pan-STARRS will make its first appearance in the Northern Hemisphere sky tonight when it will become visible to the naked eye by appearing very low in the horizon just after the sun sets.

 "As long as it continues its behavior for a few days, it looks like the Northern Hemisphere - even us city-dwellers - might get a pretty good view of this thing," Karl Battams of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington told NBC News. He added that the best time to look out for Pan-STARRS would be about half an hour after the sunset.

Battman's also noted a breakdown of what to expect this week from Pan-STARRS and when to look for it:

March 5: Pan-STARRS will be closest to Earth;

March 10: The comet will pass closest to the sun;

March 12 and 13: The best dates to look for Pan-STARRS; it should emerge in the western sunset sky not far from the crescent moon.

It's hard to predict exactly how bright Pan-STARRS will be, but you should be able to see it without binoculars or telescopes. The best photo op days will be on March 12 and 13, when PanSTARRS pairs up with the crescent moon.