Push Admin

Once in 50,000-year comet may be visible to the naked eye

Article (news)

Juliette Collen and Daniel Lawler, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Image by Dan Bartlett" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/01/07/20230107-comet.jpg"/><figcaption>Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was discovered by astronomers using the wide-field survey camera at the Zwicky Transient Facility in March 2022. On a voyage through the inner Solar System comet 2022 E3 will be at perihelion, its closest to the Sun, on January 12, 2023 and at perigee, its closest to our fair planet, on February 1. The brightness of comets is notoriously unpredictable, but by then C/2022 E3 (ZTF) could become only just visible to the eye in dark night skies. Image by Dan Bartlett</figcaption></figure></div>PARIS, France - A newly discovered comet could be visible to the naked eye as it shoots past Earth and the Sun in the coming weeks for the first time in 50,000 years, astronomers have said.The comet is called C/2022 E3 (ZTF) after the Zwicky Transient Facility, which first spotted it passing Jupiter in March last year.After travelling from the icy reaches of our Solar System it will come closest to the Sun on January 12 and pass nearest to Earth on February 1. It will be easy to spot with a good pair of binoculars and likely even with the naked eye, provided the sky is not too illuminated by city lights or the Moon.The comet &quot;will be brightest when it is closest to the Earth&quot;, Thomas Prince, a physics professor at the California Institute of Technology who works at the Zwicky Transient Facility, told AFP.Made of ice and dust and emitting a greenish aura, the comet is estimated to have a diameter of around a kilometre, said Nicolas Biver, an astrophysicist at the Paris Observatory.That makes it significantly smaller than NEOWISE, the last comet visible with an unaided eye, which passed Earth in March 2020, and Hale–Bopp, which swept by in 1997 with a potentially life-ending diameter of around 60 kilometres.But the newest visit will come closer to Earth, which &quot;may make up for the fact that it is not very big&quot;, Biver said.While the comet will be brightest as it passes Earth in early February, a fuller moon could make spotting it difficult.For the Northern Hemisphere, Biver suggested the last week of January, when the comet passes between the Ursa Minor and Ursa Major constellations.The new moon during the weekend of January 21-22 offers a good chance for stargazers, he said.&quot;We could also get a nice surprise and the object could be twice as bright as expected,&quot; Biver added.Prince said another opportunity to locate the comet in the sky will come on February 10, when it passes close to Mars.<div>&#x27;Rare visitor&#x27;</div>The comet has spent most of its life &quot;at least 2,500 times more distant than the Earth is from the Sun&quot;, Prince said.Biver said the comet was believed to have come from the Oort Cloud, a theorised vast sphere surrounding the Solar System that is home to mysterious icy objects.The last time the comet passed Earth was during the Upper Paleolithic period, when Neanderthals still roamed Earth.Prince said the comet&#x27;s next visit to the inner Solar System was expected in another 50,000 years.But Biver said there was a possibility that after this visit the comet will be &quot;permanently ejected from the Solar System&quot;.Among those closely watching will be the James Webb Space Telescope. However, it will not take images, instead studying the comet&#x27;s composition, Biver said.The closer the comet is to Earth, the easier it is for telescopes to measure its composition &quot;as the Sun boils off its outer layers&quot;, Prince said.This &quot;rare visitor&quot; will give &quot;us information about the inhabitants of our Solar system well beyond the most distant planets&quot;, he added.juc-dl/gil<div>© Agence France-Presse</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1841719" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

PARIS, France - A newly discovered comet could be visible to the naked eye as it shoots past Earth and the Sun in the coming weeks for the first time in 50,000 years, astronomers have said.

Once in 50,000-year comet may be visible to the naked eye

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Overseas

Once in 50,000-year comet may be visible to the naked eye

Juliette Collen and Daniel Lawler,

Agence France-Presse

Published January 08, 2023 03:06 AM PHT

Read More:

comet

space

astronomy

NASA

solar system

science

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

Sign Up

I have read and agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.