Stargazers, look up! A comet will be making a very close encounter to earth, the closest in over a century.
Comet P/2016 BA14 will fly within about 2.2 million miles of earth, which is considered "relatively close."
NASA says the comet is actually a "twin" of another comet, Comet 252P/LINEAR, which zipped by Monday morning.
The time of closest approach for P/2016 BA14 will be around 10:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday. Anyone hoping to see them will need powerful, professional-grade telescopes, due to their relatively small size.
This will be the third closest flyby of a comet in recorded history next to comet D/1770 L1 (Lexell) in 1770 and comet C/1983 H1 (IRAS-Araki-Alcock) in 1983.
The approaches of these two comets will be the closest they come to Earth for the foreseeable future. "March 22 will be the closest comet P/2016 BA14 gets to us for at least the next 150 years," said Chodas. "Comet P/2016 BA14 is not a threat. Instead, it is an excellent opportunity for scientific advancement on the study of comets."