Jakarta –
NASA announced that a comet it last appeared in the night sky during the Ice Age, reappearing soon in February 2023. Called comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), it orbits the Sun every 50 thousand years.
Quoted from Interesting Engineering, comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is expected to pass within 26 million miles of Earth on February 1, 2023.
This comet can be seen with the naked eye in mid to late January. For those who want to observe it more clearly, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) can be seen using binoculars and low-level telescopes when the sky is clear.
The appearance of a greenish blue comet with a golden tail
Astronomers who have tracked comet E3 claim it has a comma-like shape, is turquoise in color and has a golden tail.
E3 was first discovered by astronomers Bryce Bolin and Frank Masci using the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) survey on March 2, 2022 and has since been photographed by astronomers at NASA.
“Since then, the new long-period comet has become very bright and is now sweeping across the northern constellation Corona Borealis in the predawn sky. Still too dim to see without a telescope,” NASA wrote in its post about the famous comet.
“But this beautiful telescopic image taken on December 19 shows the comet’s lighter greenish comma-shaped appearance, a wide, short dust tail and a long, dim ion tail stretching across a 2.5-degree field of view.”
“On its way through the inner Solar System, comet E3 2022 will be at perihelion, closest to the Sun, on January 12. Then it will be at perigee, closest to our planet, on February 1. The comet’s brightness is unpredictable, but at times That is C/2022 E3 (ZTF) visible only to the naked eye in a clear, dark night sky,” NASA explained.
Anyone who wants to see comet E3should be in a very dark place, and let the eyes first acclimate for about half an hour.
Amateur astronomer apps and specialized websites, such as Star Chart, Sky Safari, and SkyView, can also be used to help track the comet’s position in the sky.
“Comets are intrinsically highly unpredictable objects, as their brightness depends on the scattering of sunlight from dust particles in the coma and tail areas of the comet,” writes the comet tracker website In-The-Sky.
“On its way through the inner Solar System, comet E3 2022 will be at perihelion, closest to the Sun, on January 12. Then it will be at perigee, closest to our planet, on February 1. The comet’s brightness is unpredictable, but at times That is C/2022 E3 (ZTF) visible only to the naked eye in a clear, dark night sky,” NASA explained.
Anyone wishing to view comet E3, however, would need to be in a very dark place, and allow their eyes to acclimate for about half an hour.
Amateur astronomer apps and specialized websites, such as Star Chart, Sky Safari, and SkyView, can also be used to help track the comet’s position in the sky.
“Comets are intrinsically highly unpredictable objects, as their brightness depends on the scattering of sunlight from dust particles in the coma and tail areas of the comet,” wrote the comet tracker website In-The-Sky.
“This dust continues to flow away from the core comet, and its density at any given time is determined by the rate of sublimation of the ice in the comet’s core, as it is heated by sunlight. It also depends on the amount of dust mixed with the ice. This is very difficult to predict, and can vary widely even between successive appearances of the same comet,” they explained.
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