A green comet will fly by Earth for the first time in 50,000 years

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A comet from the outer solar system will pass close to our planet for the first time in 50,000 years.

Today (January 12), the comet, officially known as C/2022 E3 (ZTF), will come closest to the Sun and may be bright enough to be seen with binoculars and telescopes.

EarthSky says observers will be able to catch it on January 12, just before midnight, by keeping an eye low on the northeast horizon.

According to NASA, this cosmic streak has been steadily brightening as it progresses through the inner solar system, making it easier for people to catch a glimpse of it in the night sky. Usually, comets can be difficult to notice.

A comet’s tails of dust and charged particles, as well as the bright green coma that surrounds it, can be used to distinguish it from stars. When a comet approaches the Sun, a coma forms around it, causing its ice to sublimate, or instantly turn into gas. When viewed through a telescope, the comet appears hazy.

The comet can be seen with binoculars as a weak greenish glow traveling northwest. Telescopes should be able to see the subtle features of the “green comet,” and perhaps even its wispy tail.

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) may become visible to the naked eye in dark skies at the end of January, depending on how bright it gets in the coming weeks.

After February, there won’t be another opportunity to see Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) for a very long time as it has an orbital period of 50,000 years.

This icy body has a long orbit that will take thousands of years to travel around the sun and into the outer solar system.

Astronomers using the Zwicky Transit Facility’s Wide Field Survey Camera at Palomar Observatory, north of San Diego, detected Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in March 2022.

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