Ancient comet not seen since the Ice Age will be visible in metro-east soon. How to see it
A newly discovered comet is soaring across the sky and will be closest to Earth Thursday, Feb. 2.
Although astronomers just documented the comet last March, the last time it got this close to Earth was during the Ice Age, according to NASA Jet Propulsion Labs.
While there is no guarantee the comet, C/2022 E3 (ZTF), will be visible without equipment, those who bring binoculars out to a dark area may be able to see it.
“The brightening of comets can be difficult to predict, but even if C/2022 E3 (ZTF) doesn’t brighten enough to become visible with the naked eye, it will still be observable during January and early February with binoculars and small telescopes,” Space.com says.
If you’re planning to look for the comet Thursday night, the National Weather Service St. Louis office expects skies to be clear, but reports the low will be around 14 degrees and winds gusts could reach 26 miles per hour.
What is a comet?
Comets are “cosmic snowballs” made from frozen gases, rock and dust orbiting the sun, NASA says. They can be the size of a small town when frozen, and heat up and spew gases and dust when they get close to the sun.
“There are likely billions of comets orbiting our Sun in the Kuiper Belt and even more distant Oort Cloud,” NASA’s website says.
The current number of known comets is 3,743, according to NASA.
Stargazing tips
If you’re looking for a good place to stargaze with low light pollution, NASA offers these tips:
Head at least 20 to 30 miles from urban areas
Try to find a space on the side of a large wilderness area or body of water
Look for higher altitude locations
Go to an area with open views, such as a lake shore or meadow, so trees don’t interfere with your line of sight
Make sure to avoid trespassing
The St. Louis Astronomical Society offers a list of potentially dark stargazing locations, but cautions people to seek permission before heading out as facilities may close at night.
“While most state facilities have sundown or after dark restrictions, most state park rangers are very understanding and even encouraging,” the St. Louis Astronomical Society says. “Always be courteous and don’t assume you have a right to be there without proper permission.”
Here are some of the locations SLAS recommends for stargazing:
This story was originally published January 20, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
