A rare green comet could soon be seen from NC. Here’s how to view it.

A newly discovered green comet will soon make its first approach to Earth in about 50,000 years — and it could be viewable with the naked eye.

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), discovered last March, made its closest approach to the sun on Jan. 12. It’s expected to become more viewable from Earth in the coming weeks, until about mid-February, Nick Eakes, a science education specialist at Morehead Planetarium and Science Center at UNC-Chapel Hill, told The News & Observer.

There are caveats to the exciting space event, though. Whether you’ll be able to see the comet with your naked eye depends on a lot of factors — many out of human control — such as how much of the comet materials evaporates or burns up as it approaches the sun, as well as the natural conditions of your viewing experience.

We spoke with Eakes to learn more about the comet and what people in central North Carolina can expect from it.

Here’s what we learned, including why Eakes and other science educators are encouraging people to manage their expectations about the comet and local viewing conditions.

What is a comet?

Before we get into the specifics of this particular comet, you might first be asking yourself, what even is a comet?

“The way that we say it most often at the planetarium is that a comet is kind of like a dirty snowball out there in space,” Eakes said.

Comets are ancient objects, leftover “from the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago,” NASA says.

Comets orbit the sun, but most of them are very far — hundreds of millions of miles or more — away from the sun, and have very long orbit periods that only see the objects come back toward the sun after tens or hundreds of thousands of years. Other comets, such as those closer to Neptune, may take just a few hundred years to orbit the sun, NASA says.

The solar system objects are made up of mostly ice and rock, and have “tails” made of ionized particles that are burned up by the sun’s energy, Eakes said.

Comets are fairly common in our solar system, Eakes said, with the total number of the objects likely in the trillions — but because they’re often so far away from Earth, they aren’t always visible to us.

“Since there are tons of them, we’re continually finding new ones, and doing all the fun rocket science math to figure out exactly when they’re going to pass closer to Earth, or when they’re going to be viewable for people,” Eakes said.

What makes this comet special?

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is special for a few reasons, but perhaps the most exciting is that it could be viewable to us here on Earth.

As noted above, that’s not always the case with comets, especially since comets have such long orbits and may not be close enough to Earth to see, at least not without special equipment.

“This one in particular is neat because it has a chance to be one of the brighter ones, of the level where you can see it with the naked eye,” Eakes said. “Most comets, you have to use a telescope, and sometimes a pretty powerful telescope, to be able to see.”

Among others, these factors will contribute to the comet possibly being visible to us, Eakes said:

▪ The size of the comet. This comet is an “average size comet,” Eakes said, “but it is making a relatively close pass to our inner solar system” — which makes it more visible.

▪ How close the comet is to us on Earth. When scientists first discovered comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) last year, it was about 400 million miles away from Earth, Eakes said. On Jan. 12, as the comet made its closest approach to the sun, it was about 103 million miles away.

When it makes its closest approach to Earth, it will be about 28 million miles away from Earth. That’s substantially farther away than the moon, Eakes said, which is about 240,000 thousand miles from Earth — but it’s close enough to bring the comet into our view.

▪ The composition of the comet, or what it’s made of. “Depending on what it’s made of — if it’s more ice, more rock and mineral — it can reflect more sunlight,” which will make the comet brighter and more visible, Eakes said.

A word of caution, though: “Comets are always kind of about managing expectations, because astronomers don’t always know what’s going to happen as they get close to the sun,” Eakes said.

As the comet approaches the sun, some of its material will evaporate or burn up — and whether, or how well, the comet can be viewed will depend on exactly how much material does so, as well as your surroundings when you attempt to view the solar system object.

What to expect if you’re looking for the comet in central NC

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) made its closest approach to the sun, or its perihelion, on Jan. 12, but will continue to become “a little brighter” over the next few weeks, Eakes said.

The comet will make its closest approach to Earth on Feb. 1. Eakes said the comet could be visible in the northern hemisphere, at least at some level, through mid-February.

The comet will potentially be visible in the circumpolar constellations of the Northern hemisphere, which include constellations you may already be familiar with, like the Little Dipper.

To see the comet with your naked eye, you’ll be looking for a “blurry, little fuzzy patch of the sky.”

Eakes outlined the following timeline for when and where we might be able to see the comet in central North Carolina, in relation to constellations:

▪ Starting Jan. 14 — In the middle evening, between 8 to 10 p.m., the comet may be visible in front of the constellation Bootes.

▪ Over the next 10 or so days, until Jan. 26 or 27, the comet will get closer to the Little Dipper, or Ursa Minor.

▪ The constellation will continue to move in a westerly direction until its closest approach to Earth on Feb. 1. At that time, it will be in front of the Camelopardalis constellation.

▪ After it approaches Earth, Eakes said, the comet will be close to Capella, “a very bright star,” through early to mid-February.

What are the best conditions for viewing the comet?

If you’re hunting for the comet in the night sky, you should be aware that viewing conditions can be impacted by your surroundings, such as light pollution, and natural conditions, such as whether it’s a cloudy night.

The best viewing conditions — and the best chance to see the comet with your naked eye — will come in a dark place, away from light pollution. Even then, if you’re battling with clouds in the sky, it could still be difficult to see the comet.

Eakes recommended using binoculars if you want a better chance at seeing the comet, especially if you’re unable to get away from light pollution to a dark space. And even then, don’t expect to see a beautiful, detailed image of the comet, like you might see from NASA.

“It’s still remarkable and it still tells a fascinating science story,” Eakes said. “But you do need to be in the right conditions and have the right tools to be able to see it.”

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