Comet Lulin Makes Closest Approach to Earth

A comet discovered two years ago by a Chinese teenager will make its first and only closest approach to Earth on Tuesday, February 24th.

Named after a Chinese observatory, Comet Lulin was first spotted in July 2007 by 17-year-old Quanzhi Ye. It is remarkable not only for its greenish color but because its discovery would not have been confirmed without the collaboration of Chinese and Taiwanese astronomers from the Lulin Observatory.

Comet Lulin originated on the outskirts of our solar system and will approach within 38 million miles of Earth, and its path around the Sun will provide enough energy to escape its orbit back into deep space, never to return. It has a rare greenish color due to the presence of the poison gas cyanogen and diatomic carbon, both of which glow green when illuminated by sunlight. Such gases are usually dispersed by solar energy on other comets but are present on Comet Lulin because this is its first approach to the Sun.

These results were announced on February 4th by NASA.

Source: Yahoo!