Green comet path map

I've read recent online news media posts about Comet ZTF with a mix of humor and alarm. All this talk about a rare, green comet streaking across the sky that was last seen by the Neanderthals.First, lots of comets are green — at least in the telescope. The color comes from carbon, which glows a striking aqua green when energized by the sun's ultraviolet (UV) light. The hue shows up beautifully in time exposure photographs, and it's occasionally visible in brighter comets when viewed through a telescope. But as far as the naked eye or even binoculars, it's a rare sight. My daughter and I share Comet Neowise together at dawn on a buggy July morning in 2020.Contributed / Bob King While it's true the comet last passed this way some 50,000 years ago, it's very unlikely any Homo sapiens or Neanderthals noticed it unless ZTF made an exceptionally close approach to Earth. This time around it passes relatively nearby but won't be bright in the traditional sense like Comets NEOWISE (in 2020) and Hale-Bopp (1997). With those, you could just step outside, allow a few minutes to get used to the dark and ba-boom — there they were!Comet ZTF is visible in binoculars right now but only from a reasonably dark sky with a minimum of light pollution. Through my 10x50s it's a small, fuzzy glow about 1/3 the size of the full moon with a brighter center and whiff of a tail pointing north. Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3) marches up the northern sky in the next two weeks. To find it, face north and use the labeled stars on the map to help point you to the comet. Brighter stars have proper names. Fainter ones bear letters of the Greek alphabet. In mid-January, ZTF is still low in the northeastern sky before midnight. But by the third week of January it will be easy to view during convenient evening hours. Contributed / Stellarium with additions by Bob King Through a 6-inch or larger telescope, the comet becomes increasingly more impressive. In my 15-inch scope it reveals a bright, dense core (called the nuclear region) buried in a fuzzy coma that sprouts a lovely, fan-shaped tail. No color is visible. At least for now, Comet ZTF is still too faint to see without optical aid, but as you'll learn, that may change later this month. Observers estimate its current

Naked eye.When and where to see Comet ZTFDuring the latter part of January into early February, ZTF may become bright enough to be glimpsed with the naked eye. Use a reliable star map (or app) to track the night-by-night change in position relative to the background stars and constellations. Below are dates and approximate locations. We recommend going outside and looking northwest at approximately 9 pm local time (no matter where you are).January 12-14Look towards constellation Corona Borealis before sunrise from January 12-14.January 14-20Look towards constellation Boötes before sunrise from January 14-20.January 21The comet will be visible in the night sky (previously only visible in the early morning hours). Look north, above the Big Dipper—between the constellations Boötes and Draco—at approximately 9 pm local time on January 21. The new Moon on this night should make the comet easy to spot!Comet ZTF locations, courtesy of the MISAO Project.January 22-25Look north, Find the Big Dipper and look above, near the constellation Draco (The Dragon) from January 22-25.January 26-27Look to the left of the Big Dipper (several degrees to the east of the Little Dipper) on January 26. On the following night, look north, three degrees to the upper right of orange Beta Ursae Minoris (formerly known as Kochab), the brightest of the two outer stars in the Little Dipper’s bowl. We recommend 8-10 pm your local time.January 29-30Look north and find Polaris (the North Star) and look to east (to the right) on January 29-30 at approximately 9pm your local time.February 1Look near the constellation Camelopardalis on February 1. (Comet ZTF reaches its closest point to Earth on this day.)February 2-4Look between the constellations Camelopardalis and Auriga from February 2-4. (Although we don’t recommend trying to locate the green comet during these days due to the brightness of the full Moon.)February 5Look towards the brilliant yellow-white star Capella (in the constellation Auriga). We do not recommend looking for the green comet on this date due to the full Moon.February 6Look within the triangle known as “The Kids” star pattern in Auriga, directly overhead at around 8 pm your local time on

Scientists are encouraging residents of the Chicago area to look toward the skies this week for a “once-in-a-lifetime” event, as a comet will make its closest approach to Earth in its orbit.The “green comet,” formally known as Comet C/2022 E3, will be visible in the night sky all week long, but by the time Wednesday arrives it will be just over 25 million miles from Earth, meaning that it could potentially be visible to the naked eye in darker areas.According to Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, the comet will be “just slightly brighter than 6th magnitude,” meaning that it will be at the “faintest (level of light) an object can be seen without optical aid in a very clear, dark sky.”Still, scientists say that those looking to see the comet should try to search for it with binoculars or a telescope to get a better view.The best way to see the comet will be to look northward, with the comet tracing a path between the constellations Perseus and Auriga.Astronomers do caution that the comet’s light could be somewhat washed out by the waxing gibbous moon, which will be making its way across the sky during the evening hours.It should reach its brightest point on Wednesday, when it comes within 26 million miles of Earth. It will come through the orbits of Earth and Mars at a speed of approximately 128,500 miles per hour. Its nucleus is thought to be about a mile across, with its tails extending behind it by millions of miles. Local You’ll have to act quickly to see it, as it will find its way back toward Mars by Feb. 10, and then slowly disappear from the night sky, likely not returning to our Solar System for millions of years.According to NASA scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, gravitational tugs from the sun and the planets alter the ice ball’s path, leading to major course corrections over time.The comet came from what’s known as the Oort Cloud, which is located well beyond Pluto. The haven for comets, which has existed since the formation of the Solar System 4.5 billion years ago, is thought to stretch more than one-quarter of the way to the next-closest star to our solar system.

This glowing celestial visitor is best seen in the predawn hours as it prepares to zoom safely past Earth. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A comet is streaking back our way after 50,000 years. The dirty snowball last visited during Neanderthal times, according to NASA. It will come within 26 million miles of Earth Wednesday before speeding away again, unlikely to return for millions of years. So do look up, contrary to the title of the killer-comet movie “Don’t Look Up.” Discovered less than a year ago, this harmless green comet already is visible in the northern night sky with binoculars and small telescopes, and possibly the naked eye in the darkest corners of the Northern Hemisphere. It's expected to brighten as it draws closer and rises higher over the horizon as January ends, best seen in the predawn hours. By Feb. 10, it will be near Mars, a good landmark. Skygazers in the Southern Hemisphere will have to wait until next month for a glimpse. While plenty of comets have graced the sky over the past year, “this one seems probably a little bit bigger and therefore a little bit brighter and it’s coming a little bit closer to the Earth’s orbit,” said NASA’s comet and asteroid-tracking guru, Paul Chodas. Green from all the carbon in the gas cloud, or coma, surrounding the nucleus, this long-period comet was discovered last March by astronomers using the Zwicky Transient Facility, a wide field camera at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory. That explains its official, cumbersome name: comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF). On Wednesday, it will hurtle between the orbits of Earth and Mars at a relative speed of 128,500 mph. Its nucleus is thought to be about a mile across, with its tails extending millions of miles. The comet isn’t expected to be nearly as bright as Neowise in 2020, or Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake in the mid to late 1990s. But "it will be bright by virtue of its close Earth passage ... which allows scientists to do more experiments and the public to be able to see a beautiful comet,” University of Hawaii astronomer Karen Meech said in an email. Scientists are confident in their orbital calculations putting the comet's last swing through the solar system's planetary neighborhood at 50,000 years ago. But they don't know how close it came to Earth or whether it was even visible to the Neanderthals, said Chodas, director of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. When it returns, though, is tougher to judge. Every time the comet skirts the sun and planets, their gravitational tugs alter the iceball’s path ever so slightly, leading to major course changes over time. Another wild card: jets of dust and gas streaming off the comet as it heats up near the sun. “We don’t really know exactly how much they are pushing this comet around,” Chodas said. The comet — a time capsule from the emerging solar system 4.5 billion years ago — came

A rare green comet is slowly moving through the skies above Earth, including above India, after surviving its orbit around the Sun. Astrophotographers have successfully captured the comet in all its glory around the world. It is important to note that Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will be 42 million kilometres from Earth, which is the closest it has been, as it continues its journey beyond the Solar System. As per the latest details, the rare green comet has been spotted in the skies above the Indian Astronomical Observatory in Hanle.The rare green comet was hurtling between the orbits of Earth and Mars at a speed of approximately 2,07,000 kilometres per hour. People should note that comets mostly consist of ice coated with dark organic material. They are usually referred to as dirty snowballs that can provide important information about the solar system.They provide important clues that help to know more about the formation of our solar system so it is important to study comets. The rare green comet was seen recently from Ladakh.Rare Green Comet: Important DetailsResearchers have found out that the nucleus of the rare green comet is approximately 1.6 kilometres across and its tail extends millions of kilometres in the vacuum of space.It is important to note that the comet isn't likely to be as bright as Neowise which was seen in 2020 or Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake in the mid to late 1990s.The comet is green from all the carbon in the gas cloud or coma around the nucleus. One should note that this long-period comet was first discovered last March by astronomers. They used the Zwicky Transient Facility, which is a wide-field camera at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory, to discover the comet.Scientists have done their orbital calculations and they are certain that the comet was last seen 50,000 years ago. The last time this rare green comet was seen, modern humans were yet to evolve.The comet is likely to brighten as it comes closer and rises higher over the horizon by the end of January. These are all the latest details about the comet you must know if you are interested in watching it. The comet will be near Mars by 10 February.(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)Read Latest News and Breaking News at The Quint, browse for more from news and world Topics: Solar System