Two massive space rocks are heading towards us and you will be able to see them entering Earth’s orbit.
NASA’s comet-hunting Neowise mission spotted an incoming comet this week and another that is set to enter Earth’s orbit in February.
The latter “object”, dubbed the 2016 WF9, was detected by NASA in late November.
They have described the celestial rock as a cross between an asteroid and a comet.
It’s in the middle of its 9 year orbit between Jupiter and Earth and will approach us on 25th February, flying by at a distance of 32 million miles from the planet.
There are currently no fears that it will make contact.
NASA hopes the spectacle will give them a chance to work out exactly what it is.
Typically, comets are made of frozen gas, rock and dust and release gas as they fly close to the sun – letting off gases that give them a “tail”.
The WF9 resembles a comet in its reflectivity and orbit, but appears to lack the characteristic dust and gas cloud that defines a comet.
Reaching around 1km in diameter it is charcoal-coloured and reflects just a small amount of light.
The second object, discovered by Neowise a month earlier, is more clearly a comet, releasing dust as it nears the sun.
It will be in the southeastern sky in the early hours of this week.
It will move further south each day and will reach its closest point to the sun, inside the orbit of Mercury, on 14th January, before heading back out to the outer reaches of the solar system for an orbit lasting thousands of years.
