Starting this weekend, set your sights to the skies at night for a chance to see the best comet of 2023. ☄️🌌 Our friends at AstronomyMag hooked us up with a grade guide on when to catch Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) with your naked eye.
Comet C/2022 E3 glows green and shows off a stubby tail against the dark background sky in this shot, which totals 44 minutes of exposure time with a William Optics Redcat 51 and ASI2600MC. Dominique Dierick The year is off to a great start for comet hunters, as what could be the best comet of 2023 is now set to take center stage in January and February. Comet C/2022 E3 will make its closest approach to the Sun on Thursday, Jan. 12.
Although being closer to the Sun can make some comets intrinsically brighter, at perihelion, C/2022 E3 will still sit 0.71 AU from Earth, meaning it likely won't reach naked-eye visibility at this time. Currently visible to observers in the Northern Hemisphere, the best time to view C/2022 E3 is in the early morning just a few hours before dawn. The comet's brightness now stands at about magnitude 7, making it easily visible through binoculars or any small telescope. And if the comet brightens to magnitude 6 or better, C/2022 E3 will be visible to the naked eye under good conditions.
This week, C/2022 E3 rises in the northeast around midnight, climbing higher in the sky as dawn approaches. That makes it best for early-morning observers. However, if you’re willing to stay up late next week, starting on Jan 16, you can try spotting the comet before the Moon rises around 2 A.M. local time. as the orbital planes of the comet and Earth cross. Just as quickly, however, the tail will appear to spread back out after the crossing.
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