A comet that hasn’t visited Earth or the inner solar system, when the last ice age hits the sun next night (Jan. 12), you can watch it and live online for free.
The comet, designated C/2022 E3 (ZTF), will come within about 100 million miles (160 million kilometers) of the sun when it reaches its closest point, called perihelion. The comet will then move to Earth for its closest approach to our planet, its perigee, on February 2nd, when it will pass us at a distance of 20 million miles (42 million kilometers).
Although it will not appear close to the sun to the naked eye, the comet will be visible with binoculars. If C/2022 E3 (ZTF) continues to brighten the way it is now, it will eventually become possible to spot in the night sky with the naked eye. Whether or not you’ll be able to see it yourself, the Virtual Telescope Project will host a free livestream of comets (Opens in a new tab) starting from 11 pm EST on January 12 (0400 GMT on Jan. 13). You can view the document online courtesy of the website (Opens in a new tab) or on the YouTube channel (Opens in a new tab). This will also appear on the page at the beginning of the season.
Related: Amazing images of the brilliant green Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
NASA Jet Propulsion Labs (NASA JPL) gives the period of this comet as 50,000 years. This means that the last time the orbit of C/2022 E3 (ZTF) brought it so close to Earth, our planet was in the middle of the last glacial period or “ice age” and early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals still shared the planet.
Second Even in the air (Opens in a new tab) from New York C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will appear at perihelion in the dawn sky at 11:18 pm EST (0418 GMT) and reach an altitude of 64° above the eastern horizon. The comet will drop from view as dawn approaches at around 6:07 am EST (1107 GMT).
C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will finally have its clearest on Feb. 2. it will be when it is next to the Earth, visible in the constellation Camelopardal.
The comet was first identified in March 2022 by a wide-field survey camera Zwicky passing easier and at first it is believed to be an asteroid. It was a rapid illumination of C/2022 E3 (ZTF) when it moved from Jupiter’s inner orbit, indicating its true cometary nature.
The brightness of comets can be difficult to predict, but even if C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is not bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, it will still be observed in January and early February with binoculars and small telescopes.
According to NASA (Opens in a new tab) Observers in the Northern Hemisphere will be able to find C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in the morning sky, which tends to the north throughout January. The comet will be visible to observers in the Southern Hemisphere in early February 2023.
The new moon phase (when the moon is fully illuminated) on January 21 should provide ideal dark skies to spot C/2022 E3 (ZTF), weather permitting.
If you want to look at the C/2022 E3 ZTF and don’t have weapons, be sure to check out our guides on the best binoculars and the best telescopes to see the comet or anything else in the sky. To capture the best comet images you can, we have recommendations for the best cameras for astrophotography and the best lenses for astrophotography.
Editor’s Note: If you snap Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) and would like to share it with Space.com readers, send your photo(s), comments, name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
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