Comet Tracker For Tuesday: Tonight Is Your Last Best Chance To See It For 80,000 Years

The green comet, officially known as C/2022 E3 (ZTF), is making its closest approach to Earth on Wednesday, but tonight (Tuesday, Feb. 1) might be the best chance for most skywatchers in North America to get a good glimpse. The moon will be setting later in the night on Tuesday, leading to darker skies and easier viewing. Plus, the comet will be relatively close to Earth at that time, which will increase its brightness.

As the moon brightens throughout the week, the comet will become progressively harder to see.

Though the comet isn’t expected to be a naked-eye object, binoculars and small telescopes can help bring out its green hue. “Binoculars would really make it pop, whereas the naked eye will probably not even see it,” said Brad Tucker, an astrophysicist and researcher at the Australian National University’s Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics. “We’re only seeing about 1% of its brightness from the tail.”

Even for people in the northern hemisphere with access to dark skies, “you’ll want to find a spot where there is minimal light pollution from streetlights, buildings, and so on, and you want to allow at least 20 to 30 minutes for your eyes to adapt to the dark before trying to view the comet,” said Bill Cooke, lead of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. “Try looking north near the constellation Ursa Minor.”

The comet was discovered by astronomers using the Zwicky Transient Facility in March 2022. Its elongated orbit brings it into the inner solar system, coming close enough to the sun and Earth before heading out on another extremely long journey into the Oort Cloud.

The Oort Cloud is an icy, sphere-shaped region at the outermost edge of the solar system. As its home, the Oort Cloud’s gravitational influence is what causes C/2022 E3 (ZTF) to have such an extremely elongated orbit. Though the comet may be passing near the Earth tonight, it is also passing very close to the Sun as well, which means it is actively outgassing. This results in a glowing coma that will eventually trail off into a tail. As it gets further out, the sun’s solar winds will have more time to affect this tail, causing it to move even further away and stretch.

Here are tips for observing C/2022 E3 (ZTF):

Look for it north, near the constellation Ursa Minor (which is in the northern hemisphere) near the star Polaris (the North Star).
Use a star chart to help pinpoint its exact location.
If the comet isn’t readily visible, try using binoculars.
Find a spot with little light pollution.
Give your eyes 20 to 30 minutes to adjust to the dark.
While you’re looking for the comet, take in the rest of the beautiful nighttime sky. It’s a reminder that our galaxy is full of amazing sights.

And remember, there is a chance the comet may surprise us and be brighter than expected. If it appears to be more difficult to locate or is obscured by cloud cover, keep trying the following night. You’ll be rewarded with a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Want more tips on observing comets? Read these related articles on how to watch and photograph a comet.