A once-in-a-lifetime green comet is approaching its closest point to Earth Science and technology news

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A once-in-a-lifetime green comet not seen since the Stone Age will make its closest approach to Earth next week.

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was already visible through binoculars and telescopes this month, but could become visible to the naked eye as it approaches our planet.

Experts say those without equipment should try to catch it on February 1 and 2, when the green comet will appear brightest against the night sky.

At its closest point (only 28 million miles away), it will be visible from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

NASA called the comet’s rare flyby “a wonderful opportunity to make personal contact with an icy visitor from the distant outer solar system.”

What is the best time to see it?

By far, visibility was at its best before dawn.

But as January comes to an end and February begins, the comet will be visible from the evening on.

The comet will be at its closest and brightest between next Wednesday and Thursday.

However, the Royal Observatory Greenwich suggests you check the time the moon will rise where you live, in order to avoid its bright light drowning out the comet’s brilliance.

And while C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will likely be one of the best comet sightings of 2023, it won’t be quite as stunning as the Neowise comet from three years ago.

That person left a fine streak behind him as he flew close to the ground.

More like this: Hundreds of fireball sightings in UK skies The meteor bolsters the theory regarding the origins of Earth’s oceans

PHOTO: Comet NEOWISE burns as it approaches the Sun in 2020. PIC: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Naval Research Lab/Parker Solar Probe/Brendan Gallagher

Is there anything I can use to help me figure it out?

Binoculars and telescopes have made it easy to spot the comet since January 12th.

But even without that equipment, there are ways you can give yourself a better chance of seeing them the closer you get.

Stargazing apps such as Night Sky, SkyView, and Sky Guide can be very useful, as they can help you find the exact location of comets by helping you map out star constellations.

By pointing your smartphone camera at the night sky, these apps will use augmented reality to tell you which constellations to look at and give tips on how to spot comets.

When the green comet approaches Earth, it will be in the constellation Camelopardalis.

If you want to try it and see it before then it travels through Corona Borealis, Bootes, Draco and Ursa Minor.

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00:31 2020: Comet streaks appear in the skies over northern Ireland

What else do we know about C/2022 E3 (ZTF)?

The green, icy comet was only discovered on March 2, 2022, and was observed from the Zwicky Transit Facility in California.

Astronomers calculated that it has an orbital period — the time it takes to travel around the sun — of 50,000 years.

This would place his last flight near Earth in the Stone Age.

The comet is believed to have originated on the outskirts of the solar system in the Oort cloud.

NASA describes the cloud as “a collection of icy bodies farther away than anything else in the solar system.”

It’s so far away that no spacecraft has been sent out to explore it, although some are on the way.

Unfortunately, it will take them so long to get there that they will be out of power for so long by the time they get there.

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