Comet Erasmus is Brightening Fast

Every 2000 years, Comet Erasmus (C/2020 S3) visits the inner Solar System. News Flash: It’s back. Discovered on Sept. 17, 2020, by South African astronomer Nicolas Erasmus, the comet is plunging toward the sun for a close encounter inside the orbit of Mercury on Dec. 12th. Comet Erasmus is brightening as it approaches the sun. Right now it is 7th magnitude--an easy target for backyard telescopes. Forecasters believe it will more than triple in brightness to 5th magnitude by the time it dips inside the orbi