Last Update: January 30, 2023, 12:52 IST
Comet C/2022 E3 is passing across the sky. (.(image credit: Dan Bartlett))
Binoculars and binoculars can be used in many places to view the stunning Green Comet.
With a pair of binoculars and a dark spot, you can now spot Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), which flew close to Earth 50,000 years ago. It may brighten significantly over the next few days and be visible to the naked eye on February 2 when the comet comes closest to Earth. Also known as the “green comet”, it is distinctly green, with a distinctive fuzz coma and may be visible in parts of a small comet C/2022 E3 India Shubhendu Patnaik, deputy director of the Pathani Samant Planetarium, said that in the last week of January or early February 2023. This will be the time when the best view of the comet will be seen.
Between the Saptarishi Mandal (the Great Bear) and the Pole Star, at an altitude of about 20 degrees, is where one might try to find the comet. However, a better view of the comet can be had through binoculars and a telescope. The comet’s brightness will gradually fade as it moves away from Earth.
The ideal time to view it is in the early hours of the morning, just after moonset as the moonlight makes things appear visibly dimmer in the sky. The comet’s brightness is difficult to estimate, but it is likely to be at its brightest in 2023.
Some photographs of the comet have already been taken in India during the initial discovery. According to Odisha TV, photojournalists Rakesh Roul and Malaya, who were in Bhubaneswar and Koraput in Odisha respectively. Photos were taken with a telelens.
Comet, C/2022 E3, is likely to be visible in the sky from January 30 to February 2.
On March 2 last year, astronomers Bryce Bolin and Frank Massey found C/2022 E3 (ZTF) using the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) survey. Long-period comets like C/2022 E3 are believed to originate in the farthest reaches of our Solar System, a vast cold region known as the Oort Cloud.
The green comet is not predicted to be as bright as the larger sparkly comets, many of which have been visible in daylight.
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