For the first time since the Stone Age, the Earth has a four-billion-year-old astronomical visitor flying through our solar system. A comet named C/2022 E3 (ZTF) with a noticeable green nucleus and ion tail will be visibly soaring through the northern sky for the next month and a half. With the help of the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum planetarium production coordinator, Thaddeus LaCoursiere, we have the best times, places, and ways to take a rare peek at the ball of ice, gas, and dust hurtling by our planet.
“This comet is special because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime, possibly a once-in-a-solar-system-history visit to us,” LaCoursiere said. “This is something we’re seeing for the first time in 50,000 years, and very possibly might be the last time anyone on Earth will see another.”
A comet visit is more than just a rare sight for astronomy lovers. The billion-years-old phenomena consist of icy bodies of frozen gases, rocks and dust, that make up of some of the building blocks and the very first materials in the solar system. They help researchers understand the history of the solar system, the Earth, and the original conditions that lead to life on Earth.
Approximately four-and-a-half billion years old, our green planetary visitor will be perigee, or closest to the Earth, on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2. The closest it will get to the Earth’s surface will be about 26-million-miles away, or 100 times the distance between the Earth and the moon. As it gets further away, the comet’s structure will begin to cool and dissipate making it more difficult to see, but until mid-March, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will be near some sky structures that anyone with a pair of binoculars can easily find.
During the first few weeks in Feb., the green comet will be high in the northern sky and nearby the star Polaris, or the North Star, which can be found using the Big Dipper constellation. As it continues on its route, the comet will be near the star Capella, and around Feb. 11, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will be flying by our closest planetary neighbor, Mars. The comet will be ending its more visible route in the south and southwestern sky before requiring more than the traditional backyard astronomy equipment to see it.
“First and foremost, keeping an eye on when the sky is going to be clear is going to be the biggest thing to keep in mind,” he said.
Aim for clear, dark skies. LaCoursiere recommends heading outside of the Twin Cities once it gets dark, or about 30 to 60 minutes after the sun sets. Avoid full, bright moons and light pollution as much as possible. C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is decently bright as comets go, but it’s unlikely to see with the naked eye. LaCoursiere recommends coming prepared with a pair of binoculars or a telescope. Track where the comet is in the sky, so that searching for it can start by looking for noticeable stars or planets.
For those hoping to see C/2022 E3 (ZTF) with more than a pair of binoculars, the Bell Museum will be teaming up with the Como Planetarium on Feb. 7 for a star party to spot the astronomical visitor. Led by Como Planetarium’s director, Sarah Weaver, the star party welcomes the public to use the conservatory’s telescopes to spot the comet.