A comet that hasn’t visited Earth or the inner solar system since the last ice age will reach its closest point to the sun tonight (January 12) and you can watch it live online in a free webcast.
The comet, designated C/2022 E3 (ZTF), it will come to about 100 million miles (160 million kilometers) from the sun as it reaches a closer point, called perihelion. The comet will then move towards Land making its closest approach to our planet, its perigee, on February 2. 2 when it will speed past us at a distance of 26 million miles (42 million kilometers).
Although it will not be visible to the naked eye during your approach to Sun, the comet should be observable with binoculars. If C/2022 E3 (ZTF) continues to shine as it currently does, it might eventually be possible to detect it in the night sky with the naked eye. Whether or not you can see it on your own, The Virtual Telescope Project will conduct a free live broadcast of the comet (opens in a new tab) starting in 11 pm EST on January 1 12 (0400 GMT on January 13). You can watch the live webcast courtesy of the project website (opens in a new tab) or in your Youtube channel (opens in a new tab). It will also appear on this page at the start time.
related: Amazing photos of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in magnificent green
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratories (NASA JPL) gives the period of this comet as 50,000 years. This means that the last time C/2022 E3 (ZTF) orbited it this 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 orbit. planet.
According to In the sky (opens in a new tab) from New York City C/2022 E3 (ZTF) at perihelion will be visible in the dawn sky, rising at 11:18 pm EST (0418 GMT) and reaching an altitude of 64° above the eastern horizon. The comet will fade from view at sunrise around 6:07 am EST (1107 GMT).
C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will eventually reach its brightest point on February 2. 2 when it will be at its closest point to Earth, visible in the constellation camelopardalis.
The comet was first identified in March 2022 by the Wide Field Survey Camera on the Zwicky Transitional Installation and was initially believed to be a asteroid. It was the rapid increase in brightness of C/2022 E3 (ZTF) as it moved from the inner orbit of Jupiter which indicated that it is the true cometary nature.
The brightness of comets can be difficult to predict, but even if C/2022 E3 (ZTF) does not brighten enough to be visible to the naked eye, it will still be observable through January and early February with binoculars and small telescopes.
According to NASA (opens in a new tab) observers in the northern hemisphere should be able to find C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in the morning sky as it moves northwest throughout January. The comet will be visible to skywatchers in the southern hemisphere in early February 2023.
The new moon phase (when the moon is completely unilluminated) on January 1. 21 should provide the ideal dark skies needed to detect C/2022 E3 (ZTF), weather permitting.
If you want to take a look at the C/2022 E3 ZTF and don’t have the right equipment, be sure to read our guides for 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 Y best lenses for astrophotography.
editor’s note: If you take a photo of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) and want to share it with Space.com readers, please send your photos, comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
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