The comet had been traveling towards us from the outer reaches of the solar system, and was first sighted by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) at the Palomar Observatory, near San Diego in California on March 2, 2022. "By April it will be close to the sun in the sky and a lot fainter, so will be very hard to find even with a telescope," Massey said. On February 12, you will also have a chance to observe the fading comet pass near zero-magnitude Mars. Heres how it works. An illustration of the night sky on Feb. 5 around 8:00 p.m. EST, facing north from New York City, showing comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) close to the star Capella in the Auriga constellation. "You'd have no problem seeing it with binoculars. "I would recommend the use of a finder chart to help find it with binoculars," Massey said. 3-Near the waxing crescent Moon. While 2022 has its share of comets, only a few are expected to reach magnitude 8 or brighter and become fair game for smaller telescopes and binoculars. We call this cloud of gas the head or coma. Hale-Bopp literally smashed the previous record for longevity in our skies, which had been held for nearly two centuries by the great comet of 1811. The comet's brightness now stands at about magnitude 7, making it easily visible through binoculars or any small telescope. Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF seen on Dec. 22, 2022. I tracked this comet now 6 observations starting 24-Dec-2022. He writes about astronomy forNatural History magazine (opens in new tab), theFarmers' Almanac (opens in new tab)and other publications. Comets are balls of frozen gasses, dust and rock that orbit the sun, often with enormous and strangely oval-shaped orbit paths. On the evening of Jan. 27, it will be 3.5 to the upper right of orange Kochab, the brightest of the two outer stars in the bowl. Enter the Space & Beyond Box Photo Contest! If you're hoping to catch C/2022 E3 (ZTF) as it visits Capella, our guides for the best telescopes and best binoculars are a great place to start. New York, (To put that in perspective, the full moon's brightness registers at about a magnitude of -12.6.). And even for those who are blessed with dark and starry skies, finding the comet could prove to be a bit of a challenge. The images below are courtesy of TheSkyLive.com (opens in new tab). While this will no doubt entice many skywatchers to attempt to view the comet, whether or not one will actually be able to see it will depend on a variety of factors including location and light pollution from both natural and artificial sources. More:How to view and photograph comets. New York, The moon will set later in the night, leaving the sky dark during the predawn hours, but as it approaches full phase on Feb. 5, the amount of time between moonset and the first light of dawn will get noticeably shorter. This was a particular challenge due to humid conditions and clouds, but Im thrilled I was able to capture it at all! Hunting rogue black holes in the Milky Way, Catch a lunar eclipse: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher, Aurorae throughout our solar system and beyond, Astronomers are using AI to discover fledgling planets, 'Einstein rings' around distant galaxies inch us closer to solving dark matter debate, Building telescopes on the Moon could transform astronomy, See the Lyrid meteor shower: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher, Watch the crescent Moon slide by Venus: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher, The Galilean moons of Jupiter and how to observe them, Get ready for a rare hybrid eclipse: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher, Target the tiny planet Mercury: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher, What is dark matter? Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will make its closest approach to the Sun on Thursday, Jan. 12. The comet was spotted by the wide-field survey camera at the Zwicky Transient Facility in early March 2022. According to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the comet has a period of around 50,000 years. Space probes have been sent to comets, most recently the European Space Agencys Rosetta spacecraft, which spent two years (2014 to 2016) becoming intimately acquainted with comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko. After receiving a M.S. Next Visible Comet | Comet 2023 | Comet in the Sky Tonight | Upcoming Unfortunately, the lesson learned from this comet led astronomers to downplay the next contender for greatness: comet West in 1976. Try zooming in on the green-hued fuzzball as it springs from its current residence in Corona Borealis up through Botes and Draco, passing through Ursa Minor near the cup of the Little Dipper at the end of the month. Take advantage of exciting astronomical events in May 2023! The years 1996-1997 were all about Hale-Bopp for comet fans. Space is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. The path in our sky of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) after its perihelion (closest point to the sun) on January 12-13, 2023.