Just like your first time at Disney World, your initial turn behind the wheel or turning 30, some things only happen once. This may also be the case for a bright green comet that will appear in the sky after traveling billions of miles from its believed origins.
Comet C/2022 E3 was first spotted in March 2022 as it passed through the orbit of Jupiter, according to NASA. Now the space rock, described as bright green by the space agency, will be visible in just a few weeks before disappearing into space, possibly, forever.
The comet, described by NASA as a long-period comet, will be a rare sight, as astronomers believe this will be its only recorded appearance.
NASA shared that the comet is believed to have come from the Oort Cloud, the farthest region of Earth’s solar system, described as “a big, thick-walled bubble made of icy pieces of space debris,” some of which are bigger than mountains.
“Most known long-period comets have been seen only once in recorded history because their orbital periods are so, well, long,” NASA says. “Countless more unknown long-period comets have never been seen by human eyes. Some have orbits so long that the last time they passed through the inner solar system, our species did not yet exist.”
To put into perspective how rare the comet is, another similar long-period comet, C/2013 A1, passed by Mars in 2014 but isn’t expected to return for another 740,000 years.
So those who don’t want to miss out on seeing the once-in-a-lifetime comet will want to turn their eyes to the sky on Jan. 12 as the comet will then make its closest approach to the sun before passing by the Earth at a distance of 26 million miles on Feb. 2.
NASA shared that if conditions allow and the comet continues on its current trend of brightness, it will be easily spotted with the help of binoculars. Away from city lights, the space agency says that the naked eye should also be able to see the space ice as it shoots across the sky.
“This comet isn’t expected to be quite the spectacle that Comet NEOWISE was back in 2020,” the agency added. “But it’s still an awesome opportunity to make a personal connection with an icy visitor from the distant outer solar system.”
As for how to see the comet, the website Starlust, which tracks happenings in the night sky and outer space, the comet will appear in the Camelopardalis constellation.
Weather permitting, onlookers will have a great opportunity to spot the spectacle when the moon is dim in the sky during Jan. 21’s new moon.
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