Recently, astronomers spotted a green comet passing by earth for the first time in 50,000 years. The comet designated Comet ZTF may never be seen again, so this could be the last time people witness this extraordinary comet. The green comet will speed past earth from the solar system’s edge in late January and early February.
Since the last Ice Age, when the Zwicky Transient Facility discovered this comet back in March 2022, astronomers have been calling this space snowball C/2022 E3 (ZTF), or “Comet ZTF” for short.
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Researchers figured out that the icy ball of gas, dust, and rock goes around the sun about every 50,000 years. This means that Neanderthals were still walking the earth, and humans had just moved out of Africa for the first time the last time the comet flew by.
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If those ancient people didn’t have telescopes or binoculars, they might not have seen the comet at all. So they never had the opportunity to see it again. Jessica Lee, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told Newsweek. “Some predictions suggest that the orbit of this comet is so eccentric it’s no longer in an orbit — so it’s not going to return at all and will just keep going.”
It might be worth trying to find Comet ZTF and be one of the few people ever to see it up close. Here’s what you should know to give yourself the best chance to get a glimpse of it when it passes by the earth soon.
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NASA says that people in the Northern Hemisphere should be able to see the green comet just before dawn in late January. On January 21, you can see the comet best if the sky is completely dark thanks to a new moon.
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If you don’t live in the Northern Hemisphere, don’t be disillusioned yet because, at the beginning of February, people in the Southern Hemisphere will be able to see the comet again. On February 2, Comet ZTF will get as close to the earth as it will get, which is a distance of roughly 26 million miles. That’s about 109 times farther than the moon usually is, but the comet burns so brightly that it can still be seen in the night sky.
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On January 31 and February 1, the moon will be bright. The Adler Planetarium says that the comet will be the faintest object that can be seen without optical aid in a clear, very dark sky. You’ll have to hope and wish the skies are clear to get a good view of it when it passes.
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At first, you might need a telescope to see Comet ZTF. But as it gets closer to earth, you might be able to see it with binoculars or even just your eyes. NASA wrote in an update on December 29 that comets are notoriously hard to predict. Still, if this one keeps getting brighter as it has been, it will be easy to see with binoculars and might even be visible to the naked eye under dark skies.
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For the best view, go on a clear night far away from city lights where the sky is as dark as possible. The sky will be even darker when the moon is dim or when it is below the horizon. If you live in the heart of a city, consider bringing binoculars or even a telescope in case the lights make it hard to spot the comet.
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You need to look at the right stars to see the green comet. EarthSky.org says that the comet can be seen right now as it moves through the Bootes constellation that borders Hercules. It is moving toward Polaris, also known as the North Star, and will be close to it on January 30. As it moves toward Polaris, it will appear earlier in the evening.
Thomas Prince, director of the WM Keck Institute for Space Studies at Caltech, told FOX Weather, “It will distinguish itself probably from other stars because it will look a little bit fuzzy compared to other stars.”
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Prince says that on February 10, the comet will be about 1.5 degrees from Mars in the Southern Hemisphere. When you hold it out in front of you, that’s about the width of your pinky finger. The comet will be next to it if you can find bright Mars in the sky. You can also use EarthSky published maps to help you find Hercules, Polaris, and Mars in the sky at night.
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NASA says the comet has a “greenish coma, short, broad dust tail, and long faint ion tail.” But a lot of comets shine green. Researchers in the lab have found that this aura is caused by a reactive molecule called dicarbon, which gives off green light when it breaks down in the sun.
Dicarbon is usually found in comets but not in their tails. So, the coma, which is the cloud around the frozen ball of gas, dust, and rock at the center of a comet, glows green while the tail stays white.
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