![]() One night later, Japanese observer Hirohisa Sato’s photographs of the object revealed a small coma, changing its status to a comet. Its distance from the Sun (r) and Earth (d) in astronomical units (a.u.) are also shown.Ĭ/2022 E3 was discovered on March 2, 2022, and initially reported as an asteroid candidate. The same focal length, camera, and similar exposure time were used for each photo except November 19th due to the comet's low altitude. This image sequence shows the comet's evolution from a 14th-magnitude blip on June 4, 2022, (upper left) to a binocular-bright object with two tails on December 28th. His analysis indicates a recent slowdown in the comet's rate of brightening, with a peak brightness closer to 6.0 magnitude. Not to throw shade, but Jose Pablo Navarro, amateur astronomer and administrator of the Facebook group Comet Asteroid Meteor Watch, examined 2,509 visual and CCD observations of the comet from the Minor Planet Center database. Expect it to peak around magnitude 5.5 at the end of January into early February. Thanks to clouds and moonlight I last saw it in late December at 8th magnitude in Corona Borealis.Ĭurrent visual magnitude estimates put Comet ZTF at between magnitude 6.5 and 7.0. Observers with dark, moonless skies may even spot the comet with the naked eye (dimly) as it sails between the the Big and Little Dippers later this month. While it’s not all that, this Oort Cloud refugee is already visible in binoculars and a pretty sight in modest telescopes. ![]() ![]() Two cameras were used for the composite image - an 11-inch RASA to capture a detailed black-and-white image, and a DSLR with a 280-mm focal length lens for the color shot.ĭazzling green comet! First appearance in 50,000 years! Watch it streak across the sky! Based on recent headlines you’d think Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3) was the greatest astronomical event of modern times. Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3) displays a bright, fan-shaped dust tail and an ion tail more than 4° long on January 12, 2023. ![]()
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