Photographer and science communicator Miguel Claro captured a wonderful photo of Comet C / 2022 E3 (ZTF). The record was captured on January 12 at the Dark Sky Observatory Alqueva in Portugal, and shows the comet’s beauty and tail.
The picture was taken during the comet’s perihelion, when it was at its closest point to the sun. In the image it is possible to see its greenish coma, coming from the luminous carbon dioxide, and the long tail of the ions emitted from its nucleus.
Check it out below:
In the photo, file Comet C / 2022 E3 (ZTF) They appear shining between the constellations Hercules, Crown of the North and Böotes, the Boieiro. At the time of the recording, the comet was about 108 million km from Earth, with an optical magnitude of 7.3.
It’s worth paying attention to the sky: the comet continues its journey through space and will reach perihelion, the closest point to Earth, on February 1, and it may be visible to the naked eye. Describing the photo, Miguel said, “These things are unpredictable, and we never know what surprises might await us.”
When first observed in March 2022, comet 2022 E3 ZTF had an apparent magnitude of 17.3, a much duller brightness than currently observed. for him It will be visible Over the Southern Hemisphere as of February 2nd.
