Newly discovered comet will come closest to Earth: This is your only chance to see it

An interesting astronomical phenomenon will occur in the coming days. Residents of Earth will be able to see the periodic comet called C/2022 E3 (ZTF), which was found in March 2022.

In 2023, the comet reached its closest point to the Sun on January 12, and on February 1 it will come close to Earth.

On this day, the distance between the Earth and the comet will be 42 million km. In the night sky, the comet will pass through the Big Dipper and the North Star.

C/2022 E3 is a round comet and will be best seen from the Northern Hemisphere region (it will also be visible from Armenia), although at this time it is not very bright and almost impossible to see with the naked eye.

"Right now, it's certainly too faint to see with the naked eye," said Paul Wiegert, a professor at Western University's department of physics and astronomy. But, he added, "It will get brighter as we get towards the end of the month."

It's hard to predict how bright C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will become for comets, although some estimates suggest that this comet could be +5 to +4 magnitude bright with a gas tail length of more than 10°.

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) can be seen from any location where city lights do not obstruct the view of the night sky. Although C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is a periodic comet, this is your only chance to see it, and if you miss it now, you may never see it again, as this comet orbits the Sun once every 50,000 years.

However, the best way to find comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) from your location is probably TheSkyLive.com. This site lets you enter your location and then provides a variety of information, including the comet's brightness, the constellation in which it can be found, and even provides a map of its location.

Astronomers recommend looking for C/2022 E3 (ZTF) a few days before it gets as close to Earth as possible, because on February 1, when the comet is expected to be brightest, it will be almost completely illuminated by the Moon.