This time of year, many families load up the SUV, and take a drive in order to view bright holiday displays. This weekend will offer another reason to venture out, but keep an eye to the sky.

According to NECN, stargazers can check out the brightest comet of this year. The 46P/Wirtanen will pass closest to Earth on Saturday night into Sunday. According to NBC News, this orbit will be one of the closest comet orbits to Earth since the 1950s.

The 46P/Wirtanen isn't exactly going to stick out. While at it's closest, the comet will be around 7.2 million miles away. For perspective, this is 30 times the distance the Earth is from the moon. However, we should be able to view it with the naked eye from a location with little light pollution. For a better view, use binoculars or a telescope.

NBC News reported  the 46P/Wirtanen, which moves past Earth about every five and a half years, was one of three comets discovered by Carl Wirtanen in 1948 at the Lick Observatory in California.

 

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