Washington: A recently discovered Comet is fast approaching towards Earth and it will come closest to our planet in February.
The comet is now passing through the inner solar system and should be visible with a telescope and likely with binoculars.
The comet, named, C/2022 E3 (ZTF), was first sighted in March last year, when it was already inside the orbit of Jupiter. At the time of its discovery, it was shining with a magnitude of 17.3.
The comet makes its closest approach to the Sun on January 12, and then passes its closest to Earth on February 2, NASA said in a blog post.
The comet when it comes closest to Earth in February this year could visible with naked eyes.
"Comets are notoriously unpredictable, but if this one continues its current trend in brightness, it'll be easy to spot with binoculars, and it's just possible it could become visible to the unaided eye under dark skies", NASA said.
However, Skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere will be able to find the comet in the morning sky in January as it moves fast in the northwest direction.
Skygazers should look for the comet when the Moon is dim in the sky. It means that the new Moon on January 12 is the best suitable time to do this. During the comet’s closest approach to Earth on February 2, it will be in the Camelopardalis constellation, Space.com said in a report.
According to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the comet has a period of around 50,000 years. This means that prior to it coming to within around 100 million miles (160 million kilometers) of the Sun on January 12 and 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) of Earth on February 2, the last time it came so close was during the Upper Paleolithic period on Earth.
"This comet isn't expected to be quite the spectacle that Comet NEOWISE was back in 2020. But it's still an awesome opportunity to make a personal connection with an icy visitor from the distant outer solar system," Nasa said.
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