COMET Swan and its 11 million mile long tail will be visible in the night sky from tonight.

The ball of ice, discovered in April by astronomer Michael Mattiazzo, has already passed the Earth but is getting brighter as it approaches the Sun.

It will be best viewed from the southern hemisphere, but those in the northern hemisphere will still be able to see it low on the horizon in the pre-dawn hours.

Swan is currently about 53 million miles from the Earth and is expected to be a "significant" comet in terms of visibility, according to the European Space Agency.

It’ll be noticeable in the dark night sky because of its greenish tinge and long, blue tail.

Comets have that greenish tinge because they’re mostly made of ice.

As opposed to asteroids which are predominantly rock.

The Argus: On camera: Comet McNaught passes over the region

When is the best time to see Comet Swan?

The best time to see the comet will be in the early hours of the morning when the night is at its darkest.

As ever, try and get as far away from light pollution as possible.

Even if that just means going down to the end of your garden.

You can take a look at the comet’s Twitter account to find out whereabouts it is and how brightly it’s shining.

Where does the comet come from?

Not a great deal is known about the comet as it was only discovered very recently.

It was found on April 11, 2020, by an amateur astronomer from Australia named Michael Mattiazzo.

He was analysing data from Nasa’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) – specifically images from the SWAN camera (Solar Wind Anisotropies instrument) – when he found it.

Mattiazzo noticed a comet that suddenly appeared in images that were taken on March 25, 2020.

It was given the name Comet SWAN after the device used to find it.

Astronomers are now hard at work trying to learn more about the dazzling green comet.

  • If you see the comet let us know and email charlotte.ikonen@newsquest.co.uk.