Mystery Twin Comets Flying By Earth Are One Of The Closest Encounters In Recorded History
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Astronomers have their eyes on the sky Monday, watching as two mysterious twin comets fly by.
It will be the third closest encounter in recorded history according to NASA.
Comet P/2016 BA14 was discovered last January by scientists in Hawaii. At first they thought it was an asteroid, but then they noticed its tail and realized it was a comet. Its path is eerily similar to 252P/LINEAR, a comet scientists discovered 16 years ago in Massachusetts.
It's a bit of a mystery as to how the pair evolved. NASA said the two could be interplanetary twins. The small one may actually be a fragment that broke off the bigger one.
"We know comets are relatively fragile things," said Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Center of NEO Studies (CNEOS) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
The largest twin passes near earth on Monday morning. The smaller twin will follow suit on Tuesday morning. When they do, scientists hope to learn more about them.
NASA insists they'll miss Earth. Both fly-bys will be about 2 million miles away.
CBSSF.com writer, producer Jan Mabry is also executive producer and host of The Bronze Report. She lives in Northern California. Follow her on Twitter @janmabr.