Gerald Rhemann/NASA

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If you cast your gaze skyward next week, with the help of some binoculars or a telescope, you might just catch a glimpse of the brightest comet in our solar system whizzing past the Earth.

The comet, known in astronomy circles as "46P/Wirtanen," will come within roughly 7 million miles of earth, among the 10 closest since 1950, according to

. That might not sound super close, but the sun, for reference, is about 93 million miles from Earth.

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Courtesy/JPL-Caltech/NASA

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Wirtanen will be closest to Earth on Sunday, Dec. 16.

Wirtanen, so named for astronomer Carl Wirtanen who first spotted the comet in 1948, is about ¾ of a mile in diameter and should appear not as a bright pinpoint, like common stars, but as a diffuse area of light.

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Comet 46P/Wirtanen Nov 26, 2018. Taken with @Celestron C14, Starizona Hyperstar and @QHYCCD QHY183c camera. 139 x 15 sec exposures. pic.twitter.com/8qhjzkrGHz — Terry Lovejoy (@TerryLovejoy66) November 28, 2018

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Whether the comet will be visible to the naked eye is yet to be determined. Comets are fickle objects and a lot will depend on light pollution in any given area. For the best viewing opportunities, skywatchers will want to bring binoculars or a small telescope and get as far away from bright city lights as possible.

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46P now bright enough to be visible in an allsky photo. This one using the very impressive Olympus 8mm f1.8 fisheye lens, from my very light polluted location. pic.twitter.com/mDgXfgaH1c — Terry Lovejoy (@TerryLovejoy66) December 2, 2018

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While the comet will be closest to Earth next week, it will remain within observable range for considerably longer, almost to the end of the month, giving experts at NASA a chance to do important research.

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Comet Wirtanen, December 3. 87x15sec with C14 + Hyperstar + @qhyccd QHY183c. Field of view is approximately 0.71 degrees across. pic.twitter.com/FMjcYG0uhF — Terry Lovejoy (@TerryLovejoy66) December 4, 2018

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"Comet 46P in particular will remain within 10 million miles of Earth for several weeks, from December 4 through 28, 2018," Michael DiSanti, a researcher at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said in a statement. "This will permit detailed studies of its material, as successive regions of the comet's nucleus become exposed to sunlight."

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If you don't want to brave the elements, but still want to see Wirtanen,

on Dec. 12 and 17.

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-- Kale Williams

kwilliams@oregonian.com

503-294-4048