A comet discovered last July is fast approaching our part of the solar system and might reach binocular visibility (at least) by May 2022. It’s designated C/2021 O3 (PanSTARRS). The comet will be emerging into our western evening sky at least by early May. The comet is currently passing close to the sun, and it might not survive that passage … but if it does, get ready! Charts below.
Comet PanSTARRS will come close to the sun, closer than the planet Mercury. Its closest point, called its perihelion, will come on April 21, 2022. It’ll sweep 0.29 astronomical units (AU) from our star (1 AU = 1 average Earth-sun unit of distance). So – given that Mercury’s sunny side reaches temperatures of around 750 to 800 degrees Fahrenheit (up to about 430 degrees Celsius) – you can see that Comet C/2021 O3 (PanSTARRS) will really feel the sun’s heat.
That’s why Comet C/2021 O3 might disintegrate, as some comets do, when nearest our star.
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