The comet was spotted last March when it passed Jupiter. The comet will be closest to Earth on February 1.
A newly discovered comet may be visible to the naked eye in the coming weeks for the first time in more than 50,000 years, US astronomers say.
Comet C/2022 E3 was discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility last March when it passed Jupiter.
The comet will be closest to the Sun on January 12 and closest to Earth on February 1.
Weather permitting, it is possible to see the comet with binoculars or perhaps even with the naked eye.
– The comet is at its brightest when it is close to Earth, says the professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology Thomas Prince for AFP.
Prince is involved in the Zwicky Transient Facility project.
The comet, consisting of ice and dust, leaves behind a green trail and is about a kilometer in diameter, says an astrophysicist at the Paris Observatory Nicolas Biver.
– We may be in for a pleasant surprise and the comet is brighter than expected, says Biver.
He recommends that those living in the Northern Hemisphere observe the comet in the last week of January, as a full moon may make it difficult to see the comet in early February.
The comet is smaller than Comet Neowise, which passed Earth in March 2020, the previous comet visible to Earth with the naked eye.
According to AFP, the comet passed the Earth last time in the Late Paleolithic period, the era when Neanderthals were still alive.
Source: AFP