Stunning green comet to fly past Earth soon, won't return for 50,000 years; here’s how to watch

For the first time in at least 50,000 years, a dazzling ice green comet is predicted to approach Earth from space. One NASA official claims that the green comet was first observed in March of 2022, when Jupiter was still inside the orbit of the sun. On February 2, 2023, the brilliant green comet is predicted by experts to make a close approach to Earth.

A NASA blog points out that comets are notoriously hard to forecast. They are, nevertheless, visible if the comet's brightness continues to rise as it has been. 

The green comet has a scientific designation of C/2022 E3 (ZTF), as reported by NASA. On Thursday, the comet would come within 1.4 million miles of the sun. On February 2nd, it will begin its approach to Earth. At this distance of around 42 million kilometres from Earth, the comet would be rather close. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so it's easy to see why it's so highly valued. For what reason is it happening? This is because a comet's orbit around the Sun takes around 50,000 years.

Having reached the inner solar system, the comet has been drawing attention for its peculiar green brightness. The perihelion occurred yesterday, January 12th (the position on its orbit where it is the closest to the Sun). Now on its journey back, it will go within a million miles of Earth. As of right now, it may be seen in the northeastern sky, but on February 1, 2023, it will be at its closest to our planet.

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On February 1st, the comet will be visible to the naked eye, but only under certain circumstances. You'll want to choose a spot with little artificial lighting and a dark sky. This implies that city dwellers may not be able to view the comet, either naked eye or with a telescope.