It’s a special celestial event for people to see with the naked eyes over the next few weeks. the Comet C/2022 E3 reaches its closest point on February 1st. When he last came near the earth 50,000 years ago, Neanderthals were still living in Europe. The most important questions and answers about comet sighting:
When is the comet best seen?
At the February 1st Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) has reached its closest distance to Earth. It then flies around 42 million kilometers past our planet. That’s almost a third of the distance from Earth to the Sun.
However, the moon is quite full in the sky at the beginning of February, which makes it difficult to see, especially in the bright cities. With binoculars or a telescope, however, the chances of seeing the comet are very good. In any case, you should check the weather report to see if it’s worth seeing.
When the sky is clear, the best time to see the green comet with the naked eye is when second week of February around February 8th.
Where can you see the green comet in the night sky?
Where the comet is at the moment depends on the observation location, the date and the time. Between the January 15th and February 6th is the comet so close north celestial polethat he stands high above the sky all night. It is generally found around February 1st near the Pole Star.
In the next few days the comet will then continue to fly through the constellations “Dragon” and “small wagon” (“Little Bear”). Anyone who cannot find the comet as a layman should not be disappointed. Sven Melchert, chairman of the Sternfreunde, assumes that the comet will only be seen by those who have experience in observing the sky and have the tools to do so such as a telescope or binoculars.
How bright will the tail star get?
The comet is estimated to reach an apparent magnitude of 5.4. This roughly corresponds to the limit of visibility for the naked eye. Some experts go loud ARDAlpha assume that it could shine even at 4.5 mag.
In binoculars, the comet appears as a muddy patch, shimmering greenish.
Why is the comet called C/2022 E3 (ZTF)?
The celestial body got its name because it was first seen by a program called the Zwicky Transient Facility from an observatory in the United States last year.
According to the German Aerospace Center (DLR), it is around one kilometer in size, but currently has a coma measuring around 50,000 kilometers, a kind of particle shell. This occurs when the comet approaches the sun and heats up, causing particles to break loose from its ice and migrate into the tail.
what is a comet
Coming from the extreme and frigid edge of the solar system, comets are celestial bodies that were not consumed in planet formation. According to the DLR, they consist of dust grains, organic molecules and, because of their low temperature, frozen gases. The high proportion of volatile matter distinguishes them from asteroids.
They are sometimes pushed out of their original orbit by gravity or collisions and then end up close to the sun or the earth. Most recently, comets C/2021 A1 Leonard and C/2020 F3 Neowise flew past Earth.