It was only in March of last year that scientists from the Palomar Observatory in California the glowing green chunk of ice that will be on our earth in the coming weeks fly by will. That C/2022 E3 (ZTF) could not be observed and documented beforehand, has a very simple reason: It takes an incredibly long time until it Sun circled once. The last time you see the ice chunk through a telescope could have observed, there wasn’t even that human civilization.
Now the comet is coming really close to us. On round 42 million kilometers he approaches the blue planet – that’s about 109 times as far gone like the moon. A comparable one perigee was for a time from 50,000 years ago calculated. At that time they should Neanderthals stared at the sky in bewilderment as C/2022 E3 (ZTF) appeared overhead. Although, the comet should definitely be a feast for the eyes, because it shines in a striking green, such as the NASA reported.
Green comet comes very close to the earth in early February 2023 – spectacle in the morning sky possible
the green bills comes from a molecule called dicarbon. This emits a green light as it decays in sunlight. But it is only in the so-called coma observed – i.e. the haze that immediately surrounds the comet. the tail of C/2022 E3 (ZTF) itself is white.
42 million kilometers are in cosmic standards only a stone’s throw, which is why the ice ball soon too with the naked eye will be visible in the night sky. At least that’s what it’s about NASA from when the actually unpredictable block continues its “brightness trend”. On January 31st should it then reach its greatest brightness.
That’s a good thing, because almost at the same time the “Green Comet” also comes to the point closest to the earth: on February 1, 2023. But the best time to watch him is probably the 21th January or the 20. February being. Then it is new moon and the night sky particularly dark. “You need one absolutely dark sky out of town,” Urania Planetarium director Simon Plate advises aloud rbb. Otherwise the moonlight will disturb. After the new moon is therefore suitable the second half of the night better for comet hunting. If you are not that experienced in observing celestial bodies, you should also use a telescope or binoculars take help. Also the European space agency ESA assumes that “modest instruments” will be needed to see the comet. Because despite its special color and proximity to Earth, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) cannot be compared to bright comets such as Neowise in 2020.
The comet will be between the January 20th and 22nd be much easier to find for the inexperienced. For then he stands “in a beautiful heaven, between the Big Dipper and North Star“, says Plate. In addition, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is then so high in the sky that he no longer goes down. So we can see it in the sky all night long – provided we find it. This is still possible until around mid-February. Even then, the “Green Comet” moves through a prominent star formation: Between the February 10th and 12th he wanders through the constellation Taurusvery close to Mars over.
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