It was in the month of March 2022 that the green comet or C/2022 E3 (ZTF) as it is actually called, was discovered by space scientists with the help of a wide-field camera.
Comets are "cosmic snowballs" made up of frozen gases, dust and rock.
What causes this particular comet to have a green glow has to do with the presence of certain chemical compounds in the coma and the effects of sunlight.
These chemicals glow green when heated by UV rays and released from the comet, which is when the emerald-like glow is created.
Hard to see with the naked eye
- Now it is 42,000,000 km away from us, so you have to go out in the pitch dark, have binoculars and a tripod, or even better a camera and know where to look.
If you live in the city today, you hardly see Karlavaggen.
- The comet was closest to Earth on the first of February, but then the moonlight was a problem.
Another chance to see it is around the tenth - eleventh of February, because then it will be so close to the planet Mars in the sky that it will be easier to find it, even if it is not so bright, says Kjell Olauson, chairman of Örebro astronomy.
Since the comet is moving all the time, you cannot say a certain coordinate on the sky where you should look to see it.
- The best thing if you want to see the comet is to go to a website called stellarium.org, there the comet is already excellent and there you can see exactly where it is right now, this minute, because it is constantly moving .
But you see it most easily if you photograph it, says Kjell Olauson.