He Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) reached its closest point to the Sun and is coming straight towards Earthbut there is nothing to worry about as it will pass near us safely and along the way it is expected to give us even more incredible views.
Like all comets, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is made of ice and intensified its brightness as it reached its closest point to the Sun on January 12. But the object, which last crossed close to Earth during the Stone Agewill be visible again in the night sky and will reach its closest point to the planet February 2.
As it gets closer to Earth it could become much brighter, since for now it is only possible to observe it with telescopes. However, comets are unpredictable bodies that can become completely visible to the naked eye from one moment to the next, so At some point between January 12 and February 2 it will be visible in the night sky when it approaches 42 million kilometers from Earth, the first approach in at least 50 thousand years.
You can read our which includes the best recommendations and which region of the sky to look to identify the green flash. In addition, you can also follow along live thanks to the transmission of the Virtual Telescope Project that will begin on January 13 at 10 p.m. Central Mexico time.
Astrophotographs of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
As the comet moves closer to Earth to show us its incredible green colors in the sky with the naked eye, astrophotographers around the world are sharing their stunning snapshots of C/2022 E3 (ZTF) as it positioned itself near the System’s host star. Solar.
He Yellow Springs astrophotographer, shared an impressive view of the comet on December 29 in which you can see the nucleus, the trail left in the sky by the green coma characteristic of the object and also the brown dust tail. The photo is so detailed that if you look closely you can see the extra tail of ions extending to the right.
For his part, he obtained the image below where you can see the green color of the comet more clearly. The photograph was taken from Payton, Arizona, on December 26. “Here is a really deep exposure of an hour and a half of the comet, which shows very well the colors of the dust tail and a long gas tail,” said Schur, who also explained that he used a 10-inch GSO astrograph for his photograph. f/3.9 and an ASI OSC CMOS camera.