This month, a green comet that was discovered in March will come the closest to Earth.
Astronomers at California’s Zwicky Transient Facility used the wide-field survey camera to make the initial discovery of the comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF).
It was already within Jupiter’s orbiter.
NASA reports that it has since significantly increased in brightness and is now sweeping across the northern constellation Corona Borealis in the early morning sky.
Despite the fact that an image from December reveals its bright coma, short broad dust tail, and faint ion tail, the agency notes that it is still too dim to see without a telescope.
On January 12, the comet will be at its perihelion, or closest to the sun, and on February 1, it will be at its closest to Earth.
According to NASA, the brightness of comets is erratic, but by then, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) may only be barely visible in the night sky.
During the month of January, the comet will be visible to observers in the Northern Hemisphere in the early morning sky. It stated that it would be visible in the Southern Hemisphere by the beginning of February.
In comparison to Comet NEOWISE in 2020, this comet isn’t expected to be quite as spectacular.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory says that it has been in its current orbit for about 50,000 years, which means that Neanderthals used to live on Earth.