Comet c/2022 E3: ‘Green comet’ can be seen with naked eye
A bright green comet is making its way towards Earth for the first time in 50,000 years — and you can see it with the naked eye.
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A long period comet that hasn’t been near Earth for 50,000 years is now visible with the naked eye.
The comet known as C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is a dazzling green colour chiefly because of the presence of the gaseous inorganic chemical diatomic carbon.
It’s arriving after a long journey from the Oort cloud, an enormous disc of objects that surrounds our solar system stretching out 3.2 light years.
ZTF was discovered by astronomers Frank Masci and Bryce Bolin using the Zwicky Transient Facility on March 2 last year.
It will graze past the Earth close to the north celestial pole at a distance of about 42 million km on February 1 this year.
Here’s my first effort at capturing the “Green Cometâ€, Comet c/2022 E3 (ZTF). This was a particular challenge due to humid conditions and clouds, but I’m thrilled I was able to capture it at all! pic.twitter.com/t2VGEnfKX8
— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) January 19, 2023
As well as the stunning green colour, the comet has a yellow dust tail and faint ion tail.
It is getting brighter as it approaches the Earth and was first able to be seen by the naked eye on January 16.
You can find the location of the comet by using theskylive.com and setting the default as your home city.
Originally published as Comet c/2022 E3: ‘Green comet’ can be seen with naked eye
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