Comet discovered last spring C/2022 E3 ZTF approaches the Earth and will approach the minimum close distance of 0.28 AU. e. in early February. When it reaches maximum brightness, it will be visible to the naked eye. In the meantime, it can be observed in an amateur telescope.
An Austrian astrophotographer captured a space visitor from the village of Martinsberg with his 300mm telescope.
A cometary tail, as a rule, consists of dust and ion plumes. When the object is too far away, the double structure is not easy to distinguish, but it is clearly visible in the resulting image.
A more diffuse plume is formed by emissions of dust particles, and a narrow light beam represents gas emissions. Due to the fact that the solid particles of the cometary nucleus are heavier than gas, they are less affected by the solar wind and follow the comet’s orbit, repeating its path. And the gas molecules ionized by the sun are blown away by the solar wind.
