[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21701641

Stargazers could enjoy a rare spectacle as a bright comet swings into the Northern Hemisphere.

The icy mass, called C/2011 L4 Pan-Starrs, should be visible with binoculars or a telescope from 8 March.

But in the following days, it will become even brighter and could be seen with the naked eye.

Astronomers in the Southern Hemisphere have already been treated to a fly past, with reports that the body was as bright as stars in the Plough.

Mark Bailey, director of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland, said: "We have great hopes for this comet. Of course we are always very cautious - even now we don't know how bright it is going to get - but we are keeping out fingers crossed."

Once in a lifetime

The comet was first discovered in June 2011, spotted by the Pan-Starrs telescope (hence its name) in Hawaii as a faint object more than a billion kilometres away.

Astronomers believe it originated in the Oort Cloud, a region of space packed full of comets, and has been hurtling towards the Sun for millions of years.

It is thought to be a non-periodic comet, which means this could be the first time it has ever passed through the inner Solar System, and it might not return for another 100,000 years.

On 10 March, it will make its closest approach to the Sun, passing at a distance of about 45 million kilometres.

As it heats up, the ice and dust in the Pan-Starrs' outer crust turn to gas, making it bright in the night sky. Solar wind and pressure from sunlight gives the body its characteristic double tail.

Astronomical .....