CELESTIAL CONVERGENCE: Signs In The Heavens - Freak Supermoon, Total Eclipse Of The Sun And A Staggeringly Close Asteroid Flyby Set To Happen Within 24 HOURS! [VIDEOS]

Some conspiracy theorists claim the three events in the same day are a warning. GETTY

March 7, 2016 - SPACE - Conspiracy theorists are stocking up on food supplies amid fears the world could end in just TWO days when a total eclipse of the sun, super full moon and staggeringly close asteroid pass of earth are set to happen within 24 hours.

On March 8 asteroid TX 68, a 30-metre long lump of space rock, is due to whistle past Earth as close as 19,000 miles away.

But doom mongers are not convinced it will miss us with fears we won't be able to see it because it will be obscured by the sun.

The looming event has sent online doomsday predictors into a frenzy, particularly as NASA admits it is uncertain of the orbital path and has given estimates as close as 19,000 miles away to as far as 11 million miles.

The US space agency has also changed the DAY of the pass with the initial date being given as yesterday, March 5.

Now NASA says it will be on Tuesday, March 8.

The uncertainty over the pass coupled with the fact some online doom mongers were predicting an asteroid would smash into earth in March 2016 several months ago, has fuelled the latest fears.

Some self-styled internet prophets released videos several months ago warning an asteroid, or even a mythological rogue planet called Nibiru or Planet X, would strike Earth in March 2016, and could spell the end of the word.

Express.co.uk found several YouTube videos released six months or more ago, before there was any widespread talk of asteroid TX68's cosmic close shave.

A NASA animation showing how the total eclipse will unfold. NASA

It must be noted that videos also appear to exist for a number of other months and appear to be update when one date comes and goes without incident.

But if all this was not enough to pedal a doomsday prophecy, the conspiracists have been given more on a plate.

March 8 will also see a total solar eclipse in some parts of the globe, and a massive super full moon - the first of 2016.

In a video entitled 'Armageddon March 8th???', YouTube filmmaker Mike Morales questioned how NASA could say for sure it would not strike the planet, saying they didn't have the evidence to back it up either way.

Speaking of the total eclipse and super moon, he said: "We also have asteroid 2013 TX68 coming the exact same day and what they are saying is we won't be able to see or track it with a telescope because it is coming from the sun's side.

"This is a big heads up. is it Armageddon, who knows, but no mainstream news is warning us, NASA is not warning, so I am going to get ready like they are. Make sure you have got plenty of food supplies and water.

"It could definitely come inside our satellite belt. This thing could take out our satellites and could our gravitation pull or the moon's gravitational pull move it in?"


WATCH: Path of March 2016 Total Solar Eclipse (Animation)

Regular asteroid and earthquake watcher, YouTube channel BPEarthWatch released a video with other concerns.

The video said: "We got a great amount of uncertainty.

"They now know it is moving slower or orbiting for slightly longer. It has a condition code of seven to nine and nine is the highest code of uncertainty.

"There is a cluster of debris coming with it we can't see because it is between Earth and the sun.

"They cannot see the object, are not picking it up on radar and have not given any new data.

"This is definitely one to pay attention to, head up and be safe."

YouTube channel Nemesis Maturity posted a video about the events this month.

Screen grab from Nemesis Maturity video showing the celestial line up. NEMESISMATURITY YouTube

Although it did not predict the end of the world would result, it warned of increased tidal activity and introduced the obligatory conspiracists's code into the mix.

The short film said TX68 would pass on March 8 - the 68th day of 2016.

It also pointed out we are due for 68 total solar eclipses this century.


WATCH: Supermoon Coincides With Total Solar Eclipses And Asteroid Flyby.

Video subtitles said: "The super moon will line up with the sun to create a larger than average effect on earth's oceans."

The odd astronomical trio has seen the religious doommongers enter the ring as well with their own prophecies.

So what is the truth?

Well NASA said it is certain it will not hit us or pose any danger this year, although this is a very slim outside chance of a strike next year.

Professor Gary Shogren, a former pastor who studied the New Testament at Aberdeen University, said: "You’ll never go broke predicting the apocalypse". - Express.

SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS: "The Apocalypse" - Monstrous "Comet-Shaped" Gas Cloud To Smash Into The Milky Way Galaxy With "Spectacular Burst"!

© nrao.edu

January 30, 2016 - SPACE - A monstrous cloud is now heading to our Milky Way galaxy with enormous speed and is ready to collide with it, scientists said, adding that when it plows into our galaxy, the reaction will trigger star formation and provide gas for 2 million new stars.

The Smith Cloud, a high-velocity cloud of hydrogen gas “is plummeting toward our galaxy at nearly 700,000 miles per hour,” said the team of astronomers who have been working with the Hubble Space Telescope.

The cloud, supposedly coming from the outer regions of the galactic disk where it originated about 70 million years ago, was discovered in the 1960s by doctoral astronomy student Gail Smith.

The “apocalypse” it brings is not going to happen tomorrow – the scientists found out that the cloud is expected to plow into the Milky Way's disk in some 30 million years.

When the collision takes place, it “will ignite a spectacular burst of star formation, perhaps providing enough gas to make 2 million suns,” the astronomers say.

"The cloud is an example of how the galaxy is changing with time," Andrew Fox, of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, said. "It's telling us that the Milky Way is a bubbling, very active place where gas can be thrown out of one part of the disk and then return back down into another."

And the cloud is really monstrous even up to space standards – the comet-shaped region of gas in the cloud is about 11,000 light-years long and 2,500 light-years across.

© ESA / NASA

“If the cloud could be seen in visible light, it would span the sky with an apparent diameter 30 times greater than the size of the full moon,” astronomers say.

While the cloud is heading to our galaxy with monstrous speed (and probably monstrous intentions), the scientists try to unravel the mystery of the phenomenon.

The researchers wonder how the cloud got to “where it is now” or what exactly catapulted it out of the Milky way.“Could it be a region of dark matter — an invisible form of matter — that passed through the disk and captured Milky Way gas? The answers may be found in future research,” the scientists ask. - RT.

SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS: Is This The Hand Of God - Incredible Cloud Formation Above Portugal Looks Like A Fist From Heaven?! [PHOTOS]

The unusual cloud formation that was spotted over the Portuguese island of Madeira, which has been compared to the 'Hand of God'

January 28, 2016 - PORTUGAL - An incredible cloud formation which appeared over the skies of Portugal has been dubbed the 'hand of God'.

The cloud took the form of a fist from Heaven with a hand holding a fireball as it dominated the skyline across the island of Madeira on Monday. 

And weather blogger Rogerio Pacheco, 32, could not believe his luck when he looked up at the clouds while commuters made their way to work in the morning rush hour.

Weather blogger Rogerio Pacheco could not believe his luck when he looked up at the cloud while commuters made their way to work in the morning rush hour

Amazed onlookers have compared the bright orange cloud to everything from a flaming fist of fury to the iconic
comet featured in the classic video game Final Fantasy VII

The awe-inspiring snaps have since been shared online after Mr Pacheco opted to post them on his blog.

Amazed onlookers have compared the bright orange cloud to everything from a flaming fist of fury to the iconic comet featured in the classic video game Final Fantasy VII.

Mr Pachero said: 'As soon as I saw the sky, I was immediately intrigued and I just had to grab my camera to take photo.'  - Daily Mail.

GLOBAL ALERT: Precursors To The Black Celestial Event - U.S. Senate To Declare "International Martial Law" And Give President Obama "Unlimited" Military Powers Just Days After The Major Discovery Of Planet X And The Same Week As The Announcement Of The Setting Up Of A Earthquake Resilience Summit To Prepare For Imminent Mega-Quake Along The Pacific Northwest?!

Poster for the 1998 movie "Deep Impact"

January 28, 2016 - UNITED STATES - The U.S. Senate is poised to give President Obama and the next president unprecedented war powers that amount to declaring martial law upon the entire world. Majority leader Mitch McConnell surprised almost everyone last week by saying he has a war resolution ready to be voted on at any time.

The resolution is a new authorization for use of military force (AUMF) for declaring war on ISIS. It would give the president even more power than the AUMF granted to Bush after 9/11, which is still in place today.

“The AUMF put forward by McConnell would not restrict the president’s use of ground troops, nor have any limits related to time or geography. Nor would it touch on the issue of what to do with the 2001 AUMF, which the Obama administration has used to attack ISIS despite that authorization’s instructions to use force against those who planned the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”

Considering what Bush and Obama did with the 2001 AUMF—invading and occupying countries in “pre-emptive” war, CIA black sites, extrajudicial killings, inventing the term “enemy combatants” to bypass international law, new forms of torture, drone bombing women and children, and assassinating U.S. citizens—the specter of a new and expanded AUMF is truly frightening.


 WATCH: US Senator Warns that the Federal Govt is About to Declare "International Martial Law".

“This resolution is a total rewrite of the War Powers Clause in the U.S. Constitution,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn). “It is essentially a declaration of international martial law, a sweeping transfer of military power to the president that will allow him or her to send U.S. troops almost anywhere in the world, for almost any reason, with absolutely no limitations.”

McConnell’s resolution is more than what Obama asked for last year, but this is of little relevance since Obama has been carrying out a war against ISIS, including the use of special forces, with no authorization. The administration has refused to put forward a legal framework, insisting that the 2001 AUMF is enough.

As the New York Times pointed out, ISIS was created long after 9/11 and is actually a competitor to al Qaida, which means that Obama’s war on ISIS is not justified under the 2001 AUMF. Even members of Congress recognize that current military operations have no legal basis.

Using this rationale, Kaine and others in Congress are thrilled to know that a new AUMF could be voted on at any time. Some would prefer more restrictions, but the bottom line is that it represents and abdication of constitutional duties that would give vast military powers to one person.

Sen. John Cornyn expressed the usual platitudes in cheering for the vote, saying “the people we send in harm’s way need to know that the country is behind them” and “we also don’t need to tie the hands of the next president by restricting what the president can do.”

For some lawmakers, it’s more about giving the next president unlimited power than it is about Obama. McConnell’s about-face from December, when he expressed no interest in voting on an AUMF, may also be a ploy to make the issue a major talking point in the presidential election. There’s nothing like talk of war to whip up fear in the masses and distract them from substantive issues.

It is no coincidence that just days ago, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said about the fight against ISIS, “We’re looking for opportunities to do more and there will be boots on the ground and I want to be clear about that.”

Since ISIS is partially a product of American intervention in the Middle East, being cultivated from the Salafist sect to foment regime change in Syria, “boots on the ground” would complete another cycle for the merchants of death and destruction. The Hegelian Dialectic—create the problem, stoke the reaction, offer the solution—is a tried and true method for endless war.

We have already seen the extremely tenuous connections that war-makers use to justify their death and destruction waged around the world and on their own people. McConnell’s AUMF would clear away any feeble barriers that still stand in the way of a military dictatorship. - FTP.

 WATCH: Presidential address declaring martial law in the movie Deep Impact.

FIRE IN THE SKY: "Comet Fever" - Bright New Comet Promises Skywatching Treat in 2013!

A year from now, it is possible that "comet fever" will be running high when a newfound comet emerges into view in the evening sky. But while some scientists have high hopes for a spectacular 2013 sky show by the comet, it is still far from certain.

 Discovery image of the newfound comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS),
taken by Hawaii's Pan-STARRS 1 telescope.

When astronomers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa announced last June that they had discovered the new comet, it was a distant and inconspicuous object. But preliminary calculations at once made it clear that this new object had the potential to become a naked-eye object of considerable interest for skywatching enthusiasts in the Northern Hemisphere.  The comet was christened C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS). Comets are usually named after their discoverers, but in this case a large team of observers, computer scientists, and astronomers was involved, so the comet was named after the telescope.  PANSTARRS stands for Panoramic Survey Telescope And Rapid Response System. It's a 1.8-meter prototype for a quartet of military-funded telescopes that astronomers hope to build on the lip of the extinct volcano Haleakala.

Finding Comet PANSTARRS. The comet was initially photographed on June 6 and was confirmed the following day. Actually, the comet had been unknowingly imaged nearly two weeks earlier, on May 24 from Arizona's Mount Lemmon Observatory. When it was discovered in the constellation Libra, Comet PANSTARRS was a 19th-magnitude object - so faint that only telescopes with sensitive electronic detectors could pick it up - some 759 million miles (1.2 billion kilometers) from the sun.  Astronomers measure the brightness of objects in space on a reverse scale; the higher an object's magnitude, the dimmer it appears to observers. The comet was so far away that at first there was difficulty in pinning down the exact date of when it would arrive at perihelion - its closest point to the sun. Initial estimates suggested anytime from early next February to the middle of April of 2013.  When I first wrote about comet PANSTARRS June 27 of last year, the date of perihelion was set for next April 17. But I also said at the time: "It may yet change again, so stay tuned."   And so it did, to March 9, 2013 - less than one year from today.  The comet will pass to within 28 million miles (45 million kilometers) of the sun on that date. Such an enormous change in solar distance would cause a typical comet to increase in brightness dramatically. And indeed, the comet has responded to the increasing solar warmth as it has approached the sun. On Feb. 13, the comet had brightened to magnitude 14.5, or in other words, it had increased in brightness by more than 60 times since it was first seen last June. The comet still has a long way to go - it's still over 500 million miles (820 million km) from both the sun and Earth - out near the orbit of Jupiter. But it still appears on target to possibly become a bright naked eye object by this time next year.

How bright could Comet PANSTARRS get? Just how bright Comet PANSTARRS will ultimately be still cannot be reliably predicted. Estimates (or maybe really "guesstimates") suggest that at perihelion on March 9, the comet might become as bright as zero magnitude, placing it in the same rank as the stars Arcturus, Vega and Capella; which are some of the brightest stars in the sky. Thereafter, the comet's rapid northward motion, owing to its orbital inclination of 84 degrees to the plane of the solar system will gradually carry it away from the sun and into the western evening sky. If there is a significant tail, it would probably be seen protruding almost straight up and perhaps tilted slightly to the right, relative to the horizon. But as is the case with the comet's brightness, we can only guess just how long it will be.In the week following its closest approach to the sun, the head of the comet will be positioned less than 6 degrees above the horizon during late-twilight; about an hour or so after sunset. You can measure how low this is by recalling that your clenched fist held at arm's length measures roughly 10 degrees in width.  So Comet PANSTARRS will be only about "half a fist" above the horizon as the sky is getting appreciably dark.  On the evening of March 12, the slender sliver of a crescent moon, just one day past new, will be positioned less than 5 degrees to the right of the comet, making for perhaps a very picturesque scene. Prospective observers will need to seek the most favorable conditions possible. Even a potentially bright comet, like this one, can be easily obliterated by thin horizon clouds, haze, humid air, smoke, sunset glow or city lights. Binoculars or a small telescope are recommended for locating both the moon and the comet. - SPACE.

FIRE IN THE SKY: UFO/Meteorite/Aerial Anomaly Explodes Over South Carolina - Bright Flash and Loud Boom Woke Many Residents?!

Many people across the Upstate called FOX Carolina and said they were awakened by a loud boom and flash of light early Monday morning.

Most of the reports of the unusual phenomenon came from people living in Cherokee, Spartanburg and Greenville counties at about 1:45 a.m. Officials at the National Weather Service at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport said that based on eyewitness reports, the event was likely a meteor. The Weather Service said there was a flash in the sky about 1:46 a.m. and they recorded a very faint flash with their cameras. Spartanburg police told the Weather Service that they had received numerous calls from the public. They said that one of their officers said they saw a flash light up their car and saw various pieces disintegrate in the sky. Greenville resident Joseph Fidler sent security camera video from his home showing a bright light illuminating his neighborhood and a reflection of the meteor in the windshield of his car below.


Stuart McDaniel, of Lawndale, NC, sent in video to FOX Carolina that shows a large fireball streaking across the lower horizon at about the same time as the meteor was reported in the Upstate. Dr. Scott Howard, a geologist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, said the chances of finding a meteorite are very slim. He said only six have ever been found in South Carolina, three of which were found in the Upstate. Howard said objects coming into the atmosphere, known as meteors, are common and are usually called shooting stars. He said if something hits the ground, it is then called a meteorite.


If someone does find something they believe may be a meteorite, Howard said it is safe to pick it up once it cools off because they are not radioactive. The SCDNR reports three basic ways to identify a meteorite. The first way is to use a magnet on a string. The meteorite will sway or attract to the magnet. Second, you can compare the weight to an earth rock of the same size. The meteorite is very heavy, according to the SCDNR. Third, you can observe the exterior of the meteorite. The SCDNR said the meteorite should have a shiny black crust, areas of rust and indentations, like a what thumb leaves in clay. Dr. Charles St. Lucas, with the Roper Mountain Science Center, said the timing of the meteor is uncommon, since astronomers can usually predict them based on when the earth will pass through the tail of a comet. - FOX Carolina.

WATCH: Meteorite over South Carolina.

FIRE IN THE SKY: First Ever Solar Death of a Comet Captured - Comet's Death Dive Into Sun Seen in Great Detail!

A comet has been spotted disintegrating in the atmosphere of the sun for the first time.

Such sun-diving comets are common but none have been seen surviving entry into the sun's atmosphere until now. They could help reveal what comets are made of and also uncover hidden properties of the sun's atmosphere, researchers said today (Jan. 19) as they announced the discovery. A group of comets known as the Kreutz family regularly flies perilously close to the sun. In the past 15 years, more than 1,400 of these dirty snowballs have been detected, likely originating from a giant parent comet 20 to 100 kilometers wide (12 to 62 miles) that broke apart as recently as 2,500 years ago. However, until now, none of the telescopes trained on the sun was sensitive enough to follow any of these comets to their demise in the sun's atmosphere.


Using NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and Solar-Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO), scientists followed the Kreutz comet C/2011 N3 in its mad dash to the sun. [Photos of Death-Defying Comet Lovejoy]  "It was very surprising to see this comet at all," Karel Schrijver, an astrophysicist at Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto, Calif., told SPACE.com. "We may think that an object of some 60,000 metric tons and some 50 meters [164 feet] across is large and heavy, but if you compare it to the sun, which can easily hold a million Earths, it is astonishing that such a small object glows brightly enough to be seen." Schrijver is the lead author of the study of the disintegrating comet. The scientists detail their findings in the Jan. 20 issue of the journal Science.

Doomed comet's death dive.

Researchers first detected the comet last July 4, two days before its destruction. It initially had a tail more than 6,200 miles (10,000 kilometers) long and was diving at the sun at about 1.3 million mph (2.1 million kilometers per hour). During the final 10 minutes of observations, the comet lost about 1.5 million to 150 million pounds (700,000 to 70 million kilograms). "We've been able to bracket its size as between 30 and 150 feet (9 and 45 meters) long, with a greater likelihood that it lies at the upper end of that range," Schrijver said. "And it most likely weighed in at as much as 70,000 tons, giving it about the weight of an aircraft carrier when it first became visible." On July 6, the comet managed to reach deep into the sun's atmosphere, about 62,000 miles (100,000 km) from the surface. As it approached that point, it broke up into many large pieces ranging in size from dust up to about 150 feet (45 meters) wide. Then it completely vaporized.

A glimpse inside comets.

As sun-diving comets disintegrate, they could reveal much about how comets in general are put together and what their components are scientists say. Since comets date back to the origins of the solar system, such details about their death throes could lead to a better understanding of how the planets evolved from protoplanetary gas and dust. The behavior of these comets as they graze the sun also could shed light on the sun's mysterious high-altitude atmosphere. Scientists normally are unable to see this part of the sun because its glow is not bright enough for telescopes, while it is still too close to the sun to observe with instruments that block out the bright disk of the sun, Schrijver said. Understanding how the sun's atmosphere works could in turn reveal more about the operations of the sun's roiling surface, which can often burst with solar flares that affect Earth. - SPACE.

WATCH: Comet's death dive.

NASA COVER-UP: Sun-Diving Comet Controversy & Prof. McCanney?!

According to Professor James McCanney, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is deliberately covering up a massive explosion of coronal mass ejections on the Sun, when a huge comet hit it on Saturday. McCanney traces this deception to NASA's Space Weather website where the details about the sun-diving comet seems to have been manipulated to disguise the size of the intruding celestial object and its electrical effects on our star.

Here's Space Weather's updated statement following the deceit:

COMET AND CME: A comet discovered by amateur astronomers on Friday, Sept. 30th, disintegrated in spectacular fashion the very next day when it plunged into the sun. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded the comet's last hours. The end was punctuated by an unexpected explosion. The timing of the CME so soon after the comet dove into the sun suggests a link. But what?

There is no known mechanism for comets to trigger solar explosions. Before 2011 most solar physicists would have discounted the events of October 1st as pure coincidence - and pure coincidence is still the most likely explanation. Earlier this year, however, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) watched another sungrazer disintegrate in the sun's atmosphere. On July 5, 2011, the unnamed comet appeared to interact with plasma and magnetic fields in its surroundings as it fell apart. Could a puny comet cause a magnetic instability that might propagate and blossom into a impressive CME? The question is not so crazy as it once seemed to be. - Space Weather.

Despite the site changes, NASA is still adamant, with profusely pervasive duplicity, by referring to the comet as "puny" and concluding that the CME was just "pure coincidence." One wonders how far this executive space agency will go, in its treacherous acts of dissimulation, fraud, guile, hypocrisy, and trickery.

 LISTEN: Professor McCanney on Coast to Coast AM.

FIRE IN THE SKY: Mysterious Explosion - Fireball from the Sky Strikes Buenos Aires, Argentina, Causes Major Damage, like a Massive Bomb!

The incident occurred in a neighborhood in the Buenos Aires district, when a mysterious explosion caused damage up to two blocks away. The origin of the explosion could not be determined.

The explosion occurred around 2 and resulted in the Death of One woman with an additional Six being injured. The victim was 40 year old Silvia Infante Espinosa according to local reports. The explosion which destroyed 2 houses and 15 cars is being investigated, Silvia was trapped under the rubble and did not survive, the additional 6 injured were taken to hospital for treatment. According to eyewitness reports, the explosion was caused by an item that fell from the sky, the explosion happened on impact of this mysterious item. "I saw something fall from the sky light," said one woman when asked. "It's a great question," shot another neighbor. Later, a young man said: "It was like a bomb."

Meanwhile, the owner of one of the affected houses he is dismayed by the TV cameras stationed at the site. "I do not know what happened. Just know that there was an explosion," simply noted. Two blocks from the explosion, piles of rubble, wood, glass, twisted sheets of what were cars or roofs of houses. Two houses collapsed whole and there is mountains of material. This is a quiet neighborhood, all the neighbors are baffled by what's happened, it will take hundreds of workers to remove the debris. Estigation is still ongoing as fire crews and police science are present. Also present is the Minister of Justice and Security, Ricardo Casal, the Buenos Aires police chief Juan Carlos Paggi and the Peruvian Consul in Argentina Hugo Pereira. So far, we do not know the cause "I do not want to assume anything. Let's wait for the forensic skills," said the chief of the volunteer fire department of Esteban Echeverría, Guillermo Perez. - Lanacion. (Translated)

WATCH: Fireball in the sky over Buenos Aires.

FIRE IN THE SKY: Mysterious Light Over Southwestern USA Skies?!

What exactly was seen in the skies across the Southwestern U.S.A. Wednesday night? Was it a meteor, a falling satellite or, perhaps, something more mysterious?

A streak of light that some are describing as a fireball, was seen shooting across the night sky and law enforcement and media from Phoenix to Los Angeles to Las Vegas were fielding calls of the reported sighting. Lt. Justin Griffin of the Maricopa Sheriff Department in Arizona was trying to guess what the strange light was. "Believe it was a meteorite traveling from north to south across Maricopa County," Griffin said. "The 911 call center received a flood of calls." Griffin said there were no reports of impact or damage. - CNN.

WATCH: Glowing object flies across the skies of Phoenix.

WATCH: Mystery light over Foothill Ranch, California.

WATCH: Eye-witness capture of the object.

FIRE IN THE SKY: New Comet Will Swing Near Planet Earth In 2013!

According to astronomers, a newfound comet discovered by a telescope designed to hunt for dangerous asteroids will make its closest pass by Earth in 2013 and should be visible to the naked eye when it draws near.

Hawaii’s Pan-STARRS 1 telescope detected the comet, which is called C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS), on the night of June 5 and 6, and the discovery was confirmed by follow-up observations with a different instrument a day later. The comet will likely come within about 30 million miles (50 million kilometers) of the sun in February or March 2013 — about the same distance as the planet Mercury, researchers said. During its closest approach to Earth in two years, comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) likely to be visible low in the western sky shortly after sunset, weather permitting. Skywatchers interested in seeing the newfound icy wanderer should look up then, because they may never get another chance to see it. “The comet has an orbit that is close to parabolic, meaning that this may be the first time it will ever come close to the sun, and that it may never return,” said the University of Hawaii’s Richard Wainscoat in a statement.

Wainscoat helped confirm the comet’s existence. Right now, C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) is about 700 million miles (1.2 billion km) from the sun, placing it beyond the orbit of Jupiter. It is currently so faint that only telescopes with sensitive electronic detectors can pick it up. The comet’s clunky moniker is slightly unusual. Comets are usually named after their discoverers, but in this case such a large team of researchers helped spot the icy wanderer that it took the name of the telescope instead. Pan-STARRS 1 found the comet while scanning the sky for potentially hazardous asteroids — ones that may someday hit Earth. The comet, however, poses no danger to our planet, researchers said. - SPACE.com.

FIRE IN THE SKY: Man-Sized Meteor Lights Up The Skies Of Georgia - The Brightest Meteor Ever Recorded By NASA's Observation Network!

With news, reports, memes and rumors swirling online about the coming passage of Comet Elenin and the dwarf star, I want to highlight the dramatic display of a brilliant meteor that blazed through the sky above Georgia recently, that was captured by two NASA fireball-monitoring cameras.

The meteor was caused by a human-size chunk of an unknown comet. It was the brightest meteor yet recorded by NASA's fireball-observing network — based at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. — in its nearly three years of operation, officials said. The 6-foot-wide (1.8-meter) space rock barrelled into Earth's atmosphere at 10:47 p.m. EDT on May 20 (0247 GMT on May 21), about 66 miles (106 kilometers) above the city of Macon, Ga. Two NASA all-sky cameras, both located in northwest Georgia, tracked the resulting meteor and captured it on video. Analysis of the videos allowed scientists to calculate the basics of the object's speed, trajectory, mass and orbit. When it entered the atmosphere, the comet chunk was traveling northwest at about 86,000 mph (138,404 kph), researchers said. At this velocity, the boulder-size "dirty snowball" possessed an energy or striking power somewhere between 500 and 1,000 tons of TNT. But that striking power was never realized on the ground. The Macon meteoroid was too small, and made of the wrong kind of stuff, to survive the trip through Earth's atmosphere, researchers said. Indeed, the video shows four distinct flares emanating from the comet chunk as it broke apart multiple times. - MSNBC.

WATCH: Man-sized meteor burns up over Georgia.