Neanderthals saw it in the sky 50,000 years ago. Now it will again pass close to the Earth and it can be seen with the naked eye.
Comet C/2022 E3Discovered early last March by astronomers at the Zwicky Transitional Facility (ZTF) in the United States, its next perigee will be more than 40 million kilometers to the east.next february 1,
Astronomers believe it should be a simple view appears For a few days before and after that time. This long-period comet around the Sun had its own Last approach to Earth 50,000 years agoNeanderthal times, report Newsweek.
C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is expected to reach at least magnitude +6 at perigee, which is “near, or even the limit of, what the human eye can see”. a little brighter when it is at its closest point to Earth,” said Tania de Sales Marques, an astronomer at the Royal Greenwich Observatory in the United Kingdom, reports RT.
A celestial object of magnitude +2 is brighter than one of magnitude +8. Robert Massey of the UK’s Royal Astronomical Society explained that the object’s estimated maximum brightness is about the magnitude of +4.7 around February 1st.
If the current brightness prediction is correct, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will be the first comet seen with the naked eye since NEOWISE visited us. July 2020, indica rt,
“I have seen a growing interest in this comet, although it will not be NeoVice-like,” Massey said. For his part, Marques meant that regardless of the situation “it is worth trying to take a look at C/2022 E3 (ZTF), because it will not return for 50,000 years.”
how to watch it
Macy’s recommends watching it a clear night from a dark placeAway from light pollution, he recommends avoiding the days around the full moon on February 6, when the moon is not in the sky, he says RT.
“Binoculars are ideal for beginners trying to find a comet, because they are easy to use, while the field of view of a telescope is very small. If you can see it with binoculars, try by eyehe explained. The comet may no longer be visible to the naked eye second week of february, Already in April it will be very difficult to find it even with a telescope.
NASA reported last Saturday that the comet has become much brighter since March and It’s now obliterating the constellation Corona Borealis In the skies of the Northern Hemisphere, reports rt,
It is expected to reach its closest point or perihelion to the Sun on January 12, 2023. On its website, the US space agency has shared an image of the comet that reveals his coma or hair (the atmosphere around its core) bright green in color, A broad short tail of yellow dust and a long wispy ion tail.
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