The Christmas comet will approach the Earth for the first time in the last 50 thousand years
The long-period comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will reach the closest point to the Sun on January 12, and will be most visible on Earth on the night of February 1-2. The last time it flew past the Earth was about 50 thousand years ago, when mammoths still roamed the planet and Neanderthals lived, and there were fertile lands in place of the Sahara.
The comet was named "Christmas" because of its similarity in shape to the star of Bethlehem. On February 2, the celestial body will be located at a distance of 40 million km from Earth — more than 3 times closer than the Sun. It can be seen with the naked eye near the polar star.
Now the Christmas comet can be seen in the morning sky near the constellation of the Northern Crown.
ORIENT news
Photo: pxhere.com
