It was detected when it was passing through the orbit of Jupiter, and this week it will pass close to the Sun.
It will reach its perihelion, that is, the closest point to the Sun, on January 12, according to astronomers, who were able to calculate its trajectory following months of observation.
When a comet approaches the Sun, the ice that contains its nucleus turns into a gaseous state and releases a long tail that reflects the light of the king sun.
This bright trail is what will be visible from Earth, initially in the northern hemisphere, as “C/2022 E3 (ZTF)” gets closer.
Expectations for the comet that will pass in front of the Earth
the comet will shine with all its splendor “When it’s closest to Earth,” explains Thomas Prince, a professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology, who works for ZTF.
It will be less spectacular anyway than Hale-Bopp (1997) or Neowise (2020), which were much bigger.
With a good pair of glasses, or even with the naked eye, it can be seen at night, provided the sky is clear, there is no light pollution, and the moonlight is not disturbing.
“Maybe we’re lucky and it will be twice as bright as expected”ventures astrophysicist Nicolas Biver, from the Paris Observatory-PSL.
When can the comet be seen?
The best observation window will be the weekend of January 21 and 22and the following week.
During this period will pass between the constellations Ursa Minor and Ursa Major. Later it will be able to be seen in the southern hemisphere, to then spread towards the ends of the solar system, where it was probably born.
“We’re going to be watching it all over the place. It’s not the comet of the century, but we’re happy to be able to watch comets like this every one or two years, because we think of them as remnants of the formation of the solar system.”explain the astroscientists.
origins
According to current models, comets come either from the Kuiper belt, beyond Neptune’s orbit, or from the Oort cloud, a huge theoretical area located almost a light year from the Sun, at the limit of its gravitational field.
Given its orbit, this comet “comes initially from the Oort cloud,” according to Biver.
50,000 years ago, “C/2022 E3 (ZTF)” already visited the inner solar system and passed close to Earth.
This time it will probably “get out of the solar system once and for all,” says Biver.