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Watch this: two comets to closely pass one another at 2PM PT, 5PM ET

Watch this: two comets to closely pass one another at 2PM PT, 5PM ET

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Hergenrother comet, SLOOH
Hergenrother comet, SLOOH

Tuesday afternoon, two comets will pass by each other in a once-in-a-lifetime event that will be live-streamed by the Slooh Space Camera. Comets "168P/Hergenrother" and "C/2012 J1" (Catalina) have been tracked by Slooh members, who noticed that the comets would both pass within the view of the Slooh telescope, appearing just 43.5 arcminutes apart. The event could prove more interesting than just a two comet flyby — Slooh has observed periodic, abnormal increases in brightness from Hergenrother, hinting that it may be breaking apart. The event will be live-streamed on Slooh.com starting at 2:00PM PT, 5:00PM ET, and will be hosted by Slooh President Patrick Paolucci, Slooh Outreach Coordinator Paul Cox, and Astronomy Magazine columnist Bob Berman.