Comet set to brighten the sky

The northern hemisphere could witness a spectacular space event next year as a comet hurtles past the Earth.

Comet ISON is heading in our direction from beyond Jupiter and may prove to be brighter than any comet in the last century as it passes by.

The display could be bright enough to be seen during the day.

The comet was discovered by astronomers using the International Scientific Optical Network telescope in Russia.

The 3km-wide comet may become more visible for a few months in late 2013 and early 2014.

It has a trajectory that could take it close enough to the sun to be destroyed, but if it avoids destruction it would not return tp the inner solar system for thousands of years.

Britain's Daily Mail newspaper reported that it is set to outshine "the greatest comet of the last century" - Comet McNaught, which shone brighter than Venus as it passed above the southern hemisphere in 1965.