The sky of planet Earth can witness the presence of this comet every 50 thousand years. This is the C/2022 E3 that reached the closest point to the Sun on January 12th and will be able to be seen by the southern hemisphere from the 1st of February onwards.
Comets are composed of rock, dust and frozen gases, becoming noticeable as they approach the Sun. This allowed scientists to see it. Upon approach, the existing ice turns to gas.
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Last year, still in March, the Palomar Observatory, from the California (USA), reported that the comet will reach the closest point to Earth, being about 1 km in diameter away. The Observatory pinpointed the location of the comet near Jupiter through the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and estimated that it could be seen soon.
The first days of February could bring even greater visibility of the comet. According to experts, it can be seen in the first four days of the month, reaching the highest visibility in the north. After the period, the comet will be visible for longer in the sky, reaching the closest approach being 42 million km away from Earth.
This is a phenomenon that few people in the world have been able to observe. According to scientists, C/2022 E3 was last seen when Neanderthals inhabited Earth.
According to astronomer Filipe Monteiro, based on the orbit of the comet itself, he assumes that its origin is a very distant region of the solar system, in the Oort Cloud.
“Some predictions suggest that this comet's orbit is so eccentric that it is no longer orbiting the Sun. If so, then he will not return and will simply continue to leave," the Observatory said in a statement.
For the observation of the celestial body with the naked eye, the scientists informed that the conditions that the sky presents at the moment will be crucial so that it can be admired. The best time to try to observe will be on the day February, 10th, from 7 pm to 9 pm, when the comet will approach Mars. The sky needs to be clear, cloudless and visually unpolluted.
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