2013 Comet PANSTARRS: A Spectacular Appearance Close to the Crescent Moon [PHOTOS]

The 2013 Comet PANSTARRS spectacularly appeared close to the crescent moon during the March 13 night sky. Clear skies provided a great view for the spectators who wish to witness and capture images of the rare space phenomenon.

Viewer Adrian New shared the Comet PANSTARRS experience on the internet through an email. "Here in historic Castroville, Texas we had an impressive view of the Comet PANSTARRS and the waxing crescent Moon. Both were easily visible close to the horizon and not affected by the light towers. Taken with a Nikon D800 at ISO 800 and a 2 second exposure at F/4. Lens was a Nikon 300mm F/4," Adrian wrote.

"The comet was an easy naked eye object with tail from Arizona, at our elevation of 5150 feet," viewer Chris Schur revealed. Another viewer named Joe Shuster from Missouri shared that he managed to capture an image of the Comet PANSTARRS close to the crescent despite having a cloudy sky with the use of Canon T1i, Nikon 200mm AIS lens, ISO 800, 4s.

Comet PANSTARRS has been visible in the Southern Hemisphere for the past several weeks. Now, the Northern Hemisphere is given the opportunity to observe the comet's near-Earth appearance. "PANSTARRS will appear as a bright point of light with its diffuse tail pointing nearly straight up from the horizon like an exclamation point," National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) stated.

Viewers who missed watching the Comet PANSTARRS on March 13 should not worry because it will still appear in the night sky until the end of the month. The comet will continue to appear every night until it gets a little higher in the sky heading to the east direction with its light slowly fading as the month of March reaches the end.

To catch the best view of Comet PANSTARRS, have a good pair of binoculars or telescopes. Locate a spot with a clear view of the western sky and horizon. Then, look towards the west 30 - 40 minutes later after sunset.

The crescent moon is expected to be just above the horizon with the Comet PANSTARRS appearing approximately 10 degrees to the west which is more or less the size of a fist if held out at arm's length.

Meanwhile, take a look at the photos of Comet PANSTARRS close to the crescent Moon that viewers shared on the social networking site "Twitter."