With a pair of binoculars and a dark location, you may now be able to see Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), which last passed close to Earth 50,000 years ago. It may brighten considerably in the next few days and become visible to the naked eye when the comet comes close to the Earth on February 2. Also known as the “green comet," it is vividly green, with a distinctive fuzz coma and a tiny trace of a tail. The Comet C/2022 E3 may be visible in parts of India in the last week of January or early February 2023. According to the New Indian Express, the remarkable green comet will fly past India at roughly 7.30 p.m. on January 30, said Pathani Samanta Planetarium Deputy Director Shubhendu Pattnaik. This will be the time when the finest view of the comet will be available.
Between Saptarshi Mandal (the great bear) and the Pole star, at a height of around 20 degrees, is where one can try finding the comet. However, a better view of the comet can be seen through binoculars and a telescope. The comet’s brilliance will gradually fade as it travels away from Earth.
The ideal time to see it is just after moonset in the early morning hours since moonlight makes things in the sky appear noticeably dimmer. Comet brightness is difficult to forecast, but this one is likely to be the brightest in 2023.
A few photographs of the comet have already been taken in India during the early spotting. According to OdishaTV, photojournalists Rakesh Roul and Malaya, who were in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar and Koraput respectively. The photographs were captured with telelenses.
The comet, C/2022 E3, is likely to be visible in the sky from January 30 to February 2.
On March 2 last year, astronomers Bryce Bolin and Frank Masci found C/2022 E3 (ZTF) using the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) survey. Long-period comets like C/2022 E3 are thought to originate at the farthest reaches of our Solar System, a huge freezing region known as the Oort Cloud.
The green comet isn’t predicted to be as stunning as the sparkly big comets, many of which have been visible in daylight.
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