The green comet is flying through the sky this week – here’s how to catch a glimpse
Look out Halley, a new comet is in town and it’s passing close to earth this week. If you’re ready to put your eyes to the sky but don’t know exactly where to look, we’ve got some tips for eyeing the green comet formally known as Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF).
Attention eager stargazers! Get out your binoculars and telescopes as this week a small solar system body is going to whizz past the planet we call home. The 1-km-wide comet, which is being referred to as the ‘green comet’, will make its closest pass to earth on Thursday February 2. When was this dynamite discovery made, you ask? The green comet was first detected by astronomers using a wide-field survey camera at Caltech’s Zwicky Transient Facility in March 2022. According to The Planetary Society, the comet has a solar orbit of roughly 50,000 years, so this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spot it!
If you’re keen on getting a cheeky peek of the comet, you’ll be pleased to learn that it will be visible from Australia from February 5. According to ABC News, the best times to see it will be between February 9-11, but those wanting a good look need to be in a very dark location i.e. you need to get away from the bright city lights. Even then, NASA has said that the brightness of comets are notoriously unpredictable, so the green comet could become only just visible to the eye in dark night skies at its closest point to earth. So while the chances of seeing the comet with a naked eye are slim at best, we will still keep our eyes to the sky in hope that we can glimpse a flash of this bright green beauty.
Image credit: Parastoo Maleki on Unsplash
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