This is the second visitor to visit us from outside our solar system, and the comet will never be closer than this weekend.
A shining comet from outside our solar system is due to reach its closest point to the Sun (and Earth) on Sunday.
The landmark is named comet 2I / Borisov because it is just the second interstellar event ever seen in our cosmic neighborhood (hence 2-I) and discovered by the Crimean amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov.
In 2017, an interstellar object was seen in our solar system for the first time, after the discovery of the strange, elongated asteroid Oumuamua. Its strange shape and apparent acceleration when disappearing into deep space have led to all sorts of theories about its origin, prompting the eminent Harvard astronomer to even speculate that it might be the product of some kind of alien intelligence.
Hopefully the last interstellar intruder will remain visible for several more weeks as its journey continues. That is, the comet will not disintegrate when it flies past the Sun.
Sadly, Comet 2I / Borisov isn't going to be bright enough to be observed in the backyard, but the pros have already started capturing some pretty brilliant images when zoomed in. If you have access to a telescope with an aperture of at least 30 centimeters, you can try to locate it in the direction of the Raven constellations over the next few nights.
Researchers will continue to collect as much data on the interstellar comet as possible in the coming months.
