Photo taken at Berlin shows Comet Lulin's appearance in the sky on Jan. 26, 2009.(People's Daily Online Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    KATHMANDU, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Skygazers in Nepali capital Kathmandu may be able to view Comet Lulin, some 75 times bigger than the Earth.

    The comet is making its maiden visit to the inner solar system -- which contains Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars with the Sun at the center -- and coming closest to the earth 160 times farther than the moon Tuesday evening.

    According to eKantipur.com, the highlight comet of the season comes closest to the earth Tuesday night while gliding westwards from constellations Libra and Virgo and moving towards Leo.

    If the sky remains clear, the comet would be seen all night as lustrous mass rising in the east at dusk, climbing maximum in the southern sky promptly after midnight and setting in west around sunrise -- even with naked eyes -- close to the Saturn in the moonless night sky.

    "It's a rare opportunity to witness this celestial drama," according to Nepal Academy of Science And Technology (NAST) academician Rishi Shah. "Lulin has parabolic orbit and it takes about 50 million years to revolve around the Sun, the center of our solar system, and it would not repeat in foreseeable future. "It is a rare celestial event."

    "Lulin -- scientifically known as Comet C/2007 N3 -- has been rapidly approaching the earth while revolving around the Sun since the first week of January," said Shah, who is also the president of Nepal Astronomical Society (NASO).

    "This 'green comet' is coming closer to the earth for the first time." International Astronomical Union is marking 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy (IYA). "Lulin's closeness is the biggest event so far this year," said Jayanta Acharya, president of IYA Nepal Chapter. "It will help popularize happenings in the sky among common people," he said.

    NASO, which has been managing "star parties" in collaboration with NAST for amateur skygazers and other enthusiasts for years, has organized a special observation program at NAST premises in Khumaltar from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. (1245-1515 GMT) Tuesday evening.

    Lulin is composed of frozen ice, dust and gases. Cyanogen gas and diatomic carbon present in it, when irradiated by sunlight, make it appear green." However, to the naked eyes, it appears to be a fuzzy ball hurtling back," said Shah.

    Because of an optical illusion from earth, its tail will appear in the front as it comes closer, and the release of water vapor from it will make it appear like a mass of cotton. "Using telescopes and powerful binoculars, the head and tail of it, however, can be distinguished," he said.

    Lulin, which until 2007 was taken for an asteroid, was recognized as comet by a Chinese student, and has been named after the observatory in China's Taiwan that took telescopic pictures of it, which turned out to be the key in its newfound identity.