A comet that was last seen by Neanderthals 50,000 years ago is set to make a stunning reappearance as it will be visible to the naked eye from Earth.
The comet, named C/2022 E3 (ZTF), was discovered last March while it was inside Jupiter's orbit, and just a year on stargazers will get the opportunity to see it hurtling through the night sky, per the Daily Mail.
If it is able to be seen by the naked eye, it will be the first great comet to do so since NEOWISE raced past the Earth in 2020, leaving a magnificent long, misty tail.
Comet C/2022 E3 isn't expected to be as visually spectacular, with astronomers believing it will look like a grey streak or a smudge in the sky... which still sounds pretty cool!
NASA has revealed that the comet will be closest to Earth on February 1 of this year but may be visible in the last week of January too.
But before anybody panics - the term "close to the Earth" should be taken with a pinch of salt, as the comet will still be 42.5 million kilometers away from our home planet.
It's currently making a long journey toward the Sun, where it will loop around the star before heading in our direction to make its grand appearance in around a month's time.
Comet C/2022 E3 will then vanish again for another 50,000 years so it's probably best to see it while you can (unless you hold the secret to an extraordinarily long life).
This means that the last time it was visible to Earth would have been during the Ice Age, at a time when the Neanderthals walked the planet.
The Daily Mail states that observers in the Northern Hemisphere will have to rise and shine early as the comet will be visible in the morning sky heading northeast to the northwest and in January it will pass through the Little and Big Dippers.
Comets are "cosmic snowballs" that orbit the Sun and are made up of frozen gases, dust, and rock.
Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the UK Royal Astronomical Society, spoke to Newsweek with the following advice to see the comet: "Binoculars are ideal for beginners trying to find a comet as they're easy to use, whereas a telescope has a much smaller field of view. If you can see it with binoculars then try with your naked eye."
Star Walk suggests downloading the Star Walk 2 and Sky Tonight apps to help track the comet.
Considering it takes Comet C/2022 E3 50,000 years to orbit the Sun, it's best to get those binoculars at the ready!
.png_II23cD?tr=h-184)
