(WWJ) – Earth is preparing for something that hasn’t happened in at least 10,000 years, if ever.
On Thursday E3, the comet that was discovered in March 2022 as it passed through the orbit of Jupiter, will be at perihelion – its closest point to the sun. It will be visible from Earth, weather permitting of course, before dawn Thursday.
But over the next couple weeks, it will come even closer to Earth, according to Mike Murray of the Delta College Planetarium. NASA says E3 will be at perigee – the closest to the Earth – on Feb. 1.
Murray explained to WWJ’s Erin Vee on “All Over the Space” just where this comet has been for so long.
“If comets end up in the elliptical orbits, really stretched out orbits that come close to the sun, they’ll spend most of their time way out at the fringes of the solar system, way past Pluto,” Murray said. “But as they’re in this tight ellipse of an orbit, that means that they’ll eventually fall back in close to the sun again. But if they’ve got a really long elliptical like that, that’s why it can take tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years for comets to return.”
The bright green comet will appear in the early morning sky after traveling billions of miles from the fringes of the solar system.
Murray says the comet isn’t quite naked eye visibility yet, but hopefully it will be by early February. The comet is expected to be visible with binoculars.
A NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory senior analyst told NPR. "if C/2022 E3 has ever passed through the solar system before, it would have last been seen in the sky more than 10,000 years ago."
More information on the Delta College Planetarium in Bay City can be found online. Follow the planetarium on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates.
Related
Related
