This month is shaping up to be a comet-lover’s bonanza: Four icy interlopers are racing through the inner solar system right now, and they are all relatively easy to see with binoculars.

Backyard astronomers around the world have been keeping tabs on these icy intruders as they approach the sun, and some of the comets show tantalizing signs that they will soon brighten to at or near naked-eye levels.

As a comet nears the sun, solar heat and light begin to vaporize its coating of ices, allowing pockets of gas and dust to escape. At first, a large hazy atmosphere shrouds the once inactive comet, helping the icy boulder to glow brighter in our skies.

As the comet gets closer to the sun,