A rare green comet not seen since the Stone Age will get bigger in the sky tonight. Here’s how to watch.

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On February 1st, a comet called C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will pass Earth for the first time in 50,000 years, which means that the last time it passed our planet, Homo sapiens still shared the planet with Neanderthals. And according to astronomers’ calculations, the comet will never return.

But you don’t have to wait until February to see a comet; There are several ways to spot it before its closest approach, starting today.

On Thursday (January 12), the comet will be at perihelion, its closest point to the sun. When comets pass close to the sun, the ice sublimates—which means it turns into gas, bypassing the liquid phase. This sublimation creates a temporary atmosphere, called coma, that glows from our viewpoint.

Starting in the predawn hours of January 12, the comet can be visible near the northern sky constellation Corona Borealis and then move west over time, according to Live Science’s sister site Space.com. If viewing conditions aren’t ideal in your area, you can tune in to the live stream provided by the Virtual Telescope Project, which will begin January 12 at 11 p.m. ET.

On the nights of January 26 and 27, the comet may be visible east of the bowl of the Little Dipper. Experts expect the comet to be visible to the naked eye by the third week of January. By February 1, when the comet approaches Earth, within 28 million miles (45 million kilometers), it will be near the constellation Camelopardalis. A few days later, on February 5 and 6, the comet will pass to the west of the star Capella and then enter the constellation Auriga.

Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that you will be able to see the comet. If you live in an area with high light pollution, the comet will be too faint to see with the naked eye. Even in regions with less light pollution, the closer a comet is to Earth, the more its light is spread over a larger area. Your best bet may be to look for an area with dark, clear skies and avoid using telescopes and binoculars, according to Space.com; Your eyes should be fine.

Comet C/2022 E3 was discovered by Frank Massey and Bryce Paulin in March 2022. Astronomers observed the comet using the Zwicky Transit Facility at the Palomar Observatory in Southern California. At the time of its discovery, the comet was within the orbit of Jupiter, approximately 400 million miles (643 million kilometers) from the sun.

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