The rare space guest is visible to the naked eye

The comet is called C/2022 E3 (ZTF). It was spotted passing Jupiter as recently as this past March by the Zwicky Transit Facility in the US, which uses telescopes at the Palomar Observatory in California.

The comet will be closest to Earth on February 1, but there is already a chance of seeing it. With good binoculars it will be easy to follow, perhaps even with the naked eye if the sky is not illuminated by city lights or the moon.

Good date

In the Northern Hemisphere, your best chance of seeing the comet may be in the last week of January, according to astrophysicist Nicolas Biver at the Paris Observatory. The advice is to scout in the direction between the constellations Big Bear and Little Bear.

On the new moon on January 21-22, conditions may also be good for the curious. Also keep your eyes open on February 10 for the comet’s pass near Mars.

– We can get a nice surprise. The object could be twice as bright as expected, Nicholas Beaver says.

The comet is estimated to be about one kilometer in diameter. It consists of finer ice and dust – and is expected to appear in a green glow.

The science of scientists

The size is much smaller than Neowise, which passed us in the summer of 2020. The last comet was so bright that no optical aids were needed to see the celestial body.

But the new visit takes place “only” 42 million km from Earth and the relatively close distance compensates for its small size when the nature of the comet is studied by researchers.

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is thought to come from the Oort Cloud of comets in the dark fringes of the Solar System far from the planets. There, comets can spend eons before they are pulled into an orbit toward the inner solar system where we can see them.