Kuwaiti astronomer Adel Al-Saadoun said that the comet (C / 2022 E3 ZTF) will approach the planet and is expected to be seen on the first of next February, pointing out that the magnitude of the comet’s luminosity is expected to be less than 6 and it is the first comet that can be seen with the naked eye in two decades. .
Al-Saadoun added to Kuwait News Agency today that this comet will be seen with the naked eye after its last visit to the sun during the ice age 50,000 years ago.
He mentioned that the long-period comet moves in an elliptical orbit and approaches the sun every 50,000 years, indicating that this comet was discovered by the Zwicky Observatory in California on the second of last March.
He pointed out that the comet will reach perihelion, which is the closest point to the sun, on January 12, at a distance of 166 million km, and on the first of next February, it will be its closest point to Earth, at a distance of 42 million km.