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Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), more commonly known as the Green Comet, will make its closest approach to Earth on February 1 and will still be highly visible for the next 10 days as it heads towards Mars.

The dark green comet was discovered and named just last year on March 2, 2022. It has been moving closer to us ever since.

This newly discovered comet's orbit has taken it far from Earth. And now it's back for the first time in 50,000 years. Astronomers say that the comet was last visible in the night sky during the Stone Age.

On January 12 it was at its closest point to the Sun. It will be closest to Earth and at its peak brightness on February 1.  And this week is when it's likely to spot it with the naked eye from Earth.

But if you want to be certain you get a view of the Green Comet’s tail use a telescope.

What Is the Green Comet?

Comets are relatively small space rocks. They consist largely of ice and dust. They orbit the Sun from the outer parts of the solar system to the inner solar system. And when they move to the inner areas, they can become visible from Earth.

The Green Comet is being tracked by astronomers and space scientists as it moves closer to us in the solar system. It has two tails which developed when it was in close proximity to the Sun. 

At times the tails can appear to merge together. One of them is the dust tail which tends to appear broad and curved. The other tail is called the plasma or ion tail and is made up of gasses. It is thin and straight and typically points away from the sun.

The Green Comet appears to glow. This brightness is due to sunlight reflecting and refracting off the dust and gas in the tails.

Both tails connect to the main body which is also known as the head of the comet. And the presence of the chemical diatomic carbon causes it to glow green.

How did C/2022 E3 (ZTF) get its name?

Comets are named by rules set up by the International Astronomical Union.

• C/ refers to a non-periodic comet, which means it it takes over 200 years tocomplete its orbit. And it has never been observed before.
• 2022 is the year of discovery.
• E indicates the half-month when the comet was discovered. (The first half of January is A, the second half is B, so the first half of March is E.)
• The 3 means it was the third comet discovered in the first half of March.
• ZTF tells us who made the discovery. Or in this case which telescope.The Green Comet was discovered by a sky scanning  camera mounted on a telescope known as Zwicky Transient Facility. ZTF is located at the Palomar Observatory in California.

Now you know why C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is affectionately known, as the Green Comet.