Watch the Christmas comet light up the sky this weekend

46P/Wirtanen comet.
(Image credit: NICOLAS BIVER/AFP/Getty Images)

Santa Claus is not the only one coming to town this season.

It's also time for the return of a comet we only see once every five years — 46P/Wirtanen, or as it's more commonly known, the Christmas comet. This glowing green speck has been growing brighter in the sky since November, but on Sunday it will reach its peak, becoming visible even to the naked eye.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.