Once-in-a-lifetime "Green Comet" makes its closest approach to Earth tonight

 

We’ll be seeing more sunshine today with periods of clear skies lasting overnight, perfect timing for anyone planning to brave the cold to watch a rare comet fly through our night sky.

This comet, called C/2022 E3 (ZTF) or better known as “the Green Comet”, last flew by our planet during the Stone Age, a time when Neanderthals still walked the Earth.

It will be making its closest approach to Earth the morning of February 2nd at a distance around 26 million miles away. The comet only reappears in our night sky every 50,000 years, so this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

If you’d like to see the Green Comet, tomorrow after the moon sets at 6:19am and before the sunrises at 7:57am will be the time to shoot for. First light typically starts about 30 minutes before sunrise, so the best time to plan on turning your eyes to the sky will be between 6:20am and 7:20am.

Find a dark spot and look to the north, it will look like a green smudge in the sky. If it burns bright enough, it could potentially be seen with the naked eye, but a pair of binoculars or a telescope would work even better.

Skies should be partly cloudy with less clouds later in the night, so weather shouldn’t cause you too much trouble when trying to see the comet. You’ll still want to throw on plenty of layers, temperatures will be in the teens.