SOON-TO-BE NAKED EYE COMET: Next month this comet could become visible to the naked eye. "C/2022 E3 ZTF is already an exciting object," reports astrophotographer Michael Jaeger, who sends this picture from Martinsberg Austria:
"Although it will not reach maximum brightness until late January or February," says Jaeger, "it already shows two tails. I photographed them using my 12-inch telescope."
Discovered in March 2022 by the Zwicky Transient Facility, Comet ZTF is falling in from the outer solar system. Perihelion (closest approach to the sun) will occur on Jan. 12, 2023, at a distance of 1.11 AU. Closest approach to Earth follows on Feb. 1, 2023, at a distance of 0.28 AU. Between those two dates, the comet could hit magnitude 6, technically visible to the unaided eye.
"Although it will not reach maximum brightness until late January or February," says Jaeger, "it already shows two tails. I photographed them using my 12-inch telescope."
Discovered in March 2022 by the Zwicky Transient Facility, Comet ZTF is falling in from the outer solar system. Perihelion (closest approach to the sun) will occur on Jan. 12, 2023, at a distance of 1.11 AU. Closest approach to Earth follows on Feb. 1, 2023, at a distance of 0.28 AU. Between those two dates, the comet could hit magnitude 6, technically visible to the unaided eye.
