Comet Lulin, or Comet C/2007 N3, will be visible to stargazers on February 24th as it travels backward in space trailing twin tails.

The green comet, as it was nicknamed, will come within 38 million miles of Earth giving scientists and other astronomy lovers the chance to see its two tails. Comet Lulin, will be most visible on Earth on February 24, 2009, between magnitude +4 and magnitude +6. In clear night skies, Lulin will be visible at about 45 degrees above the horizon in the southeastern skies. The best hour to watch it will be 11 p.m.

To find it, first locate Saturn and then look south, or slightly southwest.

To understand how close to Earth comet Lulin will come, compare the 38 million miles with 35 million miles, the shortest distance planet Mars can come, or 24 million miles, the shortest distance Venus can come. For a short period, Lulin will be one of Earth’s closest neighbors.

This will be the only time comet Lulin makes itself visible on Earth. Gazers with binoculars or a telescope will get a pretty good look at Lulin. To the naked eye, the gassy comet will appear more like a large fuzzy star. Although comets are unpredictable, scientists say that Lulin will be visible for the naked eye as well. As it follows its path heading to the outer solar system, comet Lulin will become fainter.

Lulin was nicknamed the green comet due to the fact that it contains diatomic carbon and cyanogen gases that glow green when the sun shines on them. Cyanogen is a poisonous gas found in many comets. However, there is no need to worry. Earth’s inhabitants aren’t threatened by the poisonous gas.

The comet is quite active. According to data from a NASA satellite, Lulin is shedding more than 800 gallons of water per second as it moves toward the sun. The comet will be no longer visible from Earth in mid-March.

Comet Lulin was discovered about a year ago by a Ye Quanzhi and Lin Chi-Sheng from Lulin Observatory. The comet has been first photographed by Chi-Sheng on Jully 11, 2007 at the Lulin Observatory in Taiwan. However, 19-year-old meteorology student, Ye, identified the comet in those photographs.

Since January 28, NASA has been tracking the comet via satellite. The space agency found out many facts about comet Lulin, which is traveling at 60,000 mph in a retrograde direction compared with the solar system's planets.

Lulin has a tail and an “antitail,” as scientists call it, from its ivy crown and glowing atmosphere. Its tail of 250,000 miles contains assorted dust and gases.