Space: How do you observe the comet “ZTF” with the naked eye this Thursday, and it only appears every 50,000 years?
Comet C / 2022 E3 (ZFT) will pass by our planet on Thursday. This is a rare opportunity: it can only be seen every 50,000 years from the blue planet. La Dépêche du Midi explains how to observe it.
There are appointments that should not be late. This is definitely one of them. This Thursday, January 12, it will undoubtedly be possible – subject to clear skies – to observe the passage of comet “C / 2022 E3 (ZFT)” with the naked eye in the sky. This celestial body, which is “about a kilometer” in diameter, will come closest to the Sun on Thursday, January 12th. The event will be more exciting as it approaches our star, and the ice and dust on this celestial body will evaporate.
Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was discovered by astronomers in early March. Zombies and their tails can be seen through a telescope and are scheduled to reach their closest point to the Sun and Earth in January-February 2021. They can be visible to the naked eye in the dark sky! #NASA # Comet #space exploration pic.twitter.com/lvsLwtB840
– Image of the day by NASA\ud83c\udf0d\u2728 (@APOD_nasa_) December 24, 2022
Appointment is the most important That the comet does not pass near our planet – about 42 million km – more than every 50,000 years. Its last syllable dates back to the time of Neanderthals, during the Upper Paleolithic. This comet “E3” was discovered only recently, in 2020 by the Palomar Observatory in California.
How do you monitor it?
This comet will be visible from Earth as a small green dot. to me NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it will be possible to observe the passage of this comet from the northern hemisphere. The specialized site said that the celestial body will be visible “in the morning sky as it heads northwest in January. It will become visible in the southern hemisphere in early February.”
The comet should be between Ursa Minor and Ursa Major, more precisely near the constellation Camelopardalis Also known as constellation giraffe. For a better view, binoculars or a telescope are highly recommended. And “heads in the air,” don’t worry! The comet should be visible for several days. Many astronomy websites confirm that the new moon on January 21, 2023 could once again provide an opportunity to see it, if the weather is right.
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