Comet PanSTARRS warms up for celestial double feature's first show

Comet PanSTARRS glows with a fanlike tail in this picture from Argentine astrophotographer Ignacio Diaz Bobillo.

The first of two comets expected to make a splash this year is already putting on a good show for Southern Hemisphere skywatchers — and by the time it makes its appearance in northern skies, Comet PanSTARRS should be visible to the naked eye.

C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS, which was discovered in 2011 by the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii, isn't expected to be as much of a spectacle as Comet ISON, which could get as bright as the full moon in November. But it's on track to reach a brightness of at least magnitude 2 in early March. That's roughly equivalent to the brightness of Polaris, the North Star.