Newly Discovered Comet Set To Fly Past Earth In February: All You Need To Know

A newly discovered comet, which has not been seen in the past 50,000 years, is set to become visible to the naked eye in the coming weeks. The comet, C/2022 E3 (ZTF), will make its closest approach to Earth on February 2, when it is expected to light up the night sky.

According to NASA, the comet was first spotted in March last year by astronomers through the wide-field survey camera at the Zwicky Transient Facility. It was in Jupiter's orbit at the time and has grown brighter since then.

Comets are cosmic snowballs made of frozen gases, rocks, and dust that orbit the Sun. While these celestial bodies are small in size when frozen, they get heated upon coming closer to the Sun and release gases and dust into a large glowing head, which is bigger than most planets.

As per the American space agency, the C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is currently making its way through the inner solar system and may approach our planet in the coming weeks. It will be at perihelion, or closest to the Sun, on January 12. Following this, the comet will fly past Earth on February 2, when it will be at a distance of 26.4 million miles (42.5 million kilometres) from our planet.

According to Space.com, the orbital period of the comet was determined to be around 50,000 years. This means that it will be making its first approach to Earth in 50,000 years next month.

The brightness of comets is hard to predict but by the time it reaches close to Earth, it is expected to be visible to the naked eye in the night sky. In January, it is likely to be visible in the early morning skies in the Northern Hemisphere. For those living in the Southern Hemisphere, the comet will make its appearance by early February.

You can watch the comet live when it hurtles past the Sun on the Virtual Telescope Project website.