An undated artist's concept of Comet Siding Spring approaching Mars, shown with NASA's orbiters preparing to make science observations of this unique encounter, is seen in a NASA handout.
An undated artist's concept of Comet Siding Spring approaching Mars, shown with NASA's orbiters preparing to make science observations of this unique encounter, is seen in a NASA handout. The comet that sailed by Mars last month spawned thousands of shooting stars per hour and created a new layer of ionized metals high in the planet's atmosphere, NASA scientists said on Friday. REUTERS/ NASA/JPL/Handout via

The 2015 Comet Lovejoy will be giving sky watchers the best viewing experience on Wednesday night, Jan. 7. The new Comet Lovejoy, officially documented as C/2014 Q2, will make its closest approach to Earth with the remarkable night-sky display kicking off between the end of sundown and the time of moonrise.

According to a Sky and Telescope report, Comet Lovejoy will pass closest by planet Earth at a distance of approximately 44 million miles or 70 million kilometers on Wednesday. However, the comet distance will slightly change from day to day.

The new Comet Lovejoy is expected to glow at 4th magnitude during the second and third weeks of January where it will be higher in the dark sky. The viewers can have a good look at the comet display the later in the evening with the use of binoculars, telescope or the naked eye under favorable night sky conditions.

Amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy from Thornlands, Queensland, Australia discovered the new Comet Lovejoy in August 2014. The new comet has brightened since it was first spotted and it is set to reach its peak brightness this week.

Justin Ng, a veteran night sky photographer from Singapore, captured a spectacular image of the new Comet Lovejoy on Dec. 29, 2014. The image showed the bright green radiance of the comet. Click HERE to see photo.

Meanwhile, the viewers can observe the Comet Lovejoy display online through free Webcasts. According to a Space.com report, the Virtual Telescope Project in Italy will provide live telescope views of the 2015 Comet Lovejoy display on Sunday, Jan. 11, starting at 19:00 UT (2 p.m. EST).

Even though the Comet Lovejoy starts to subside from the observers after the Jan. 7 display, the comet's brightness is still expected to increase a little. Additionally, the Comet Lovejoy will not reach its closest distance to the sun until Jan. 30.

The comet should begin to diminish slightly from the Earth's point of view by the end of January as the moon returns with its first-quarter on Monday, Jan. 26. In February, the Comet Lovejoy will continue to head in the north direction between Andromeda and Perseus as it further fades from view. The comet will be making its close approach by Polaris in May 2015 where it will already be very faint at approximately 12th magnitude.

RELATED STORIES