A comet not seen since Neanderthals walked Earth is set to make a return trip – and astronomers have shared the first detailed image of the ‘cosmic snowball’.
Officially known as C/2022 E3 (ZTF), the comet orbits the Sun every 50,000 years and is scheduled to make its closest approach to our planet on February 1, 2023.
E3 was detected in March, but scientists recently took the first detailed image revealing a brighter greenish coma with a yellow dust tail.
While the comet is too dim to see without a telescope, it should be visible to the naked eye when it is regarding 26 million miles away.
E3 was detected in March, but scientists recently took the first detailed image revealing a brighter greenish coma with a yellow dust tail.
In early March, astronomers discovered Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) using the Zwicky Transit Facility’s Wide Field Survey Camera.
Since then, the new long-period comet has brightened dramatically and is now sweeping across the northern constellation Corona Borealis in the predawn sky.
The comet is currently located 117 million miles from Earth and is scheduled to reach the Sun on January 1, orbiting it and making its closest point to our planet.
E3 will be the first comet seen with the naked eye since NEOWISE in July 2020.
However, NEOWISE has left a long, fuzzy tail and E3 will likely appear as a gray streak in the night sky.
E3 should be visible by January 26th but it reaches its brightest on February 1st.
This comet isn’t the only cosmic show scheduled for 2023, as it will kick off the year with the annual Quadruple meteor shower and end with the impressive Geminid meteor shower in December.
The Quadrantid is one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year, and you don’t need specialized equipment to see it.
While the meteor shower technically started today, it will peak on the night of January 3 and the morning of January 4.
It’s an above-average shower, which usually sees 40 meteors passing by an hour.
However, at the extremes, up to 200 bright stars can be seen per hour, but this depends on ideal conditions and the ideal location on Earth.
And as 2023 draws to a close, the Geminid meteor shower will light up the sky December 13-14.
The comet is currently located 117 million miles from Earth and is scheduled to reach the Sun on January 1, orbiting it and making its closest point to our planet.
This comet isn’t the only cosmic show scheduled for 2023, as it will kick off the year with the annual Quadruple meteor shower and end with the impressive Geminid meteor shower (pictured) in December.
Meteorites are mainly white but can be yellow, green, red or blue.
While most meteor showers are caused by comets, the Geminid meteor shower is unique in that the shower is produced while Earth passes through a trail of debris generated by an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon.
Head to a dark area, away from light pollution, and allow your eyes at least 30 minutes to adjust to the night sky.
Geminid meteor showers were first reported in 1862, but it wasn’t until 1983 that scientists pinpoint the source of 3200 Phaethon.
They are called the Geminids because as the Earth passes through the debris, it illuminates the star Castor in the constellation Gemini.
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