The Pan-STARRS Comet Finally Pops Up in North America

For some time now, keen-eyed Australians have had the ridgy-didge thrill of peeping on a ghostly-white intruder to our skies: Comet Pan-STARRS, a fuming iceball that at times is so brilliant you can see it with the naked eye.

What has become a sensation down under is finally making its way to the planet's deprived northern audiences. Beginning this week, Pan-STARRS will creep into the heavens above North America, glowing low on the horizon like an antisocial star that refuses to fit in with the pack. People living along the latitude running from Salt Lake City to Pittsburgh to New York could be able to spot it right after dark, if they can minimize the astronomy-hating features of the modern urban landscape like tall buildings and blinding street lights.