When is the next comet to pass close to the earth?

Answer 1

According to the Minor Planet Center (which really just has bare-bones info), the next comet to approach the Earth within 0.2 AU (pretty close, in other words; that's 1/5 the average distance between the centers of the Earth and the Sun) will be Comet 103P/Hartley. It will make its closest approach to Earth on October 20, 2010 at a predicted distance of 0.1207 AU.

One will get much closer the next year. Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Paradisaical will pass at a predicted distance of 0.06007 AU on August 15, 2011. Neither of these comets is expected to pose a threat.

However, that means people will be "freaking out" because the Aztec calendar ends in 2012, so everybody will think it's the end of the world AGAIN. Like the people who all killed themselves because they thought there was an alien spaceship behind the Hale-bop comet. Or like in 2000 when all the computers were going to "melt down" and launch nuclear missiles and such. OR, one of the other thousand times.

Answer 2

i think this year