A recently discovered green comet that was last seen near Earth tens of thousands of years will be visible tonight.
As previously reported, the E3 comet - also known as C/2022 E3 (ZTF) - is a spectacle that was last spotted when Neanderthals still roamed the planet 50,000 years ago.
The green comet is now set to fling past our planet at a distance of about 26.4 million miles today (February 1) and tomorrow (February 2), according to CNN.
Stargazers will be able to see the contrast between the comet and the surrounding stars as it will have a path of dust following it.
Astronomers discovered the E3 comet - which features a blue-green coma and a golden tail - in March last year after they conducted a wide-field sky survey at the Zwicky Transient Facility in California, as reported by Euronews.
The E3 comet has since been photographed by astronomers at NASA who shared a statement, obtained by the outlet, that read: "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."
Back in December, scientists secured their first detailed picture of the new comet which revealed its luminous green coma and the yellow dust tail. The green is the result of a clash between sunlight and carbon-based molecules in the comet's coma, per Daily Mail.
The outlet shared that NASA intends to keep an eye on the comet with its James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which could also locate clues about the solar system's formation.
As cited by the publication, planetary scientist Stefanie Milam of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland said: "We're going to be looking for the fingerprints of given molecules that we can't access from the ground," adding, "Because JWST's so sensitive, we're expecting new discoveries."
The comet will be visible tonight and your best chance of noticing it is by going somewhere very dark, away from places with much light pollution.
Jake Foster, a Royal Observatory astronomer told The Guardian: "The comet is in the north of our skies, currently close to Polaris, the pole star directly due north."
"The comet is best viewed after midnight when it reaches its highest point in the sky. It will move a significant distance across the sky from night to night as it makes its way towards the constellation of Taurus over the coming weeks," he continued.
Foster said that stargazing apps like Star Chart and Sky Safari could pinpoint the comet’s location to make the task easier. He also added: "With a pair of binoculars or a small telescope, you should be able to spot the comet as a faint green blob."
After passing by our planet, the green comet will make its closest approach to planet Mars on February 10, according to EarthSky.
