To Catch Sight of a Comet:

A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)’s brighter greenish coma, short broad dust tail and long faint ion tail on Dec. 25. Dan Bartlett
Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)’s brighter greenish coma, short broad dust tail and long faint ion tail on Dec. 25. Dan Bartlett

There’s a comet heading our way... sorta, kinda. And it’s a big deal... for real.

The terribly-named C/2022 E3 (ZTF) long period comet was discovered March 2, 2022. It reached its perihelion (the closest approach to the Sun) on January 1, 2023, and will make its closest brush (in the solar system measurement sense) with Earth on February 1. It will still be around 26 million miles away from our pla…