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On Thursday (January 12), the comet, which has not visited Earth or the inner solar system since the last ice age, will reach its point closest to the Sun, also known as perihelion.
The comet, designated C/2022 E3 (ZTF), will approach within about 100 million miles (160 million kilometers) of the sun. After perihelion, the comet will then move towards Earth, approaching our planet, its perigee on February 2, when it will pass within 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) of us.
While it won’t be visible to the naked eye when close to the Sun, the comet should be visible through binoculars. If C/2022 E3 (ZTF) continues to brighten as it is now, it will eventually be visible to the naked eye in the night sky. Whether or not you’ll be able to see it on your own, The Virtual Telescope Project will host a free live stream of the comet starting at 11pm EST on January 12 (0400 GMT on January 13). The live webcast can be viewed courtesy of the project website (opens in a new tab) or on his YouTube channel (opens in a new tab).
Related: Watch online next week as the comet makes its closest approach in 50,000 years
NASA Jet Propulsion Labs (NASA JPL) (opens in a new tab) gives this comet’s period as 50,000 years. This means that when the orbit of C/2022 E3 (ZTF) last came this close to Earth, our planet was in the midst of the last ice age or “ice age” and early Homo sapiens and the Neanderthals still shared the planet.
According In the sky (opens in a new tab) from New York C/2022 E3 (ZTF) at perihelion will be visible in the morning sky, rising at 23:18 EST (0418 GMT) and reaching an altitude of 64° above the eastern horizon. The comet will disappear from view as dawn breaks in around 6:07am EST (1107 GMT).
C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will finally reach its brightest on February 2 when it will be closest to Earth, visible towards the constellation Camelopardalis.
The comet was first identified in March 2022 by a wide-angle survey camera Zwicky transitional facility and was initially thought to be an asteroid. Only the rapid brightening of C/2022 E3 (ZTF) as it moved out of Jupiter’s inner orbit indicated its true cometary nature.
Comet brightness can be difficult to predict, but even if C/2022 E3 (ZTF) doesn’t brighten enough to be visible to the naked eye, it will still be visible in January and early February through binoculars and small telescopes.
According to NASA (opens in a new tab) northern hemisphere observers should be able to find C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in the morning sky as it moves northwest throughout January. The comet will become visible to skygazers in the Southern Hemisphere in early February 2023.
The new moon phase (when the moon is completely unlit) on January 21 should provide the perfect dark sky needed to detect C/2022 E3 (ZTF), weather permitting.
If you want to take a closer look at C/2022 E3 ZTF and don’t have the equipment to do so, check out our guides to the best binoculars and the best telescopes for viewing a comet or anything else in the sky. For the best comet photography possible, we have recommendations for the best cameras for astrophotography and the best lenses for astrophotography.
Editor’s note: If you photograph Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) and would like to share it with Space.com readers, please send your photos, comments, name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
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