Will you pick up a little astronomy again at the start of 2023? During the night of February 1 to 2, a comet, which is currently crossing our solar system, will be closest to Earth, allowing the curious to observe it with the naked eye or with a simple pair of binoculars.
Named C/2022 E3 (ZTF), this comet will be closest to our planet around February 1. Identified in March 2022, it is currently navigating our solar system, rare fact for this type of celestial object. On the night of February 1 to 2, the comet will be about 42 million kilometers from Earth, a staggering distance to be sure, but reasonable to be able to observe it with the naked eye in the sky. Located between the constellations of the Little and the Big Dipper, it will be relatively easy to locate it, provided of course that it continues to sparkle as it does now.
How was C/2022 E3 (ZTF) discovered?
The opportunity is all the more beautiful as it is very rare to observe a comet during a lifetime, if only because most of them come from very distant areas. In fact, these “hairy stars” are residues of the formation of the Solar System, consisting of a core formed of rock, snow, gas and dust. As a comet approaches the Sun, it becomes brighter and brighter, until it becomes visible to the naked eye. “C/2022 E3” was discovered only very recently, on March 2, 20222, using the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) wide-field surveillance camera, installed on the Samuel-Oschin telescope of the Palomar observatory located in California, says NASA in a press release. The comet will be closest to the Sun around January 12, before approaching Earth on February 1.
A first time since Neanderthals
The luminous intensity of this comet continues to grow: with a magnitude of 17.3 when it was discovered, the star could exceed magnitude 6 in mid-January. As a reminder, the brighter a celestial body, the lower its magnitude. However, “the luminosity of comets is notoriously unpredictable”, wishes to specify the American Space Agency. Even if it does not shine enough, it will nevertheless be possible to observe it with a pair of binoculars or a telescope. The latest telescopic image of C/2022 E3 shared by NASA clearly shows the comet’s greenish hair (or coma), as well as a majestic trail, namely, an emission of plasma and dust that is created when they s are approaching a star. According to NASA observers, the comet already made a first pass near the Sun 50,000 years ago. The last time it got this close was during the Upper Paleolithic period on Earth. This means that the last humans able to spot C/2022 E3 (ZTF) were the first a wise man alive during the last ice age.
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