--- title: "A Super Rare Green Comet Is About to Pass By the Earth" description: "A newly-detected green comet is about to do a flyby near Earth — and it may be visible to the naked eye if conditions are just right." date: "2023-01-05" modified: "2023-01-05" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/rare-green-comet" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "Comets" - "JPL" - "the digest" - "zwicky transient facility" --- # A Super Rare Green Comet Is About to Pass By the Earth ![A newly-detected green comet is about to do a flyby near Earth — and it may be visible to the naked eye if conditions are just right.]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Seeing Green A newly-detected green comet is about to do a flyby near our Pale Blue Dot — and it may be visible to the naked eye. When issuing its January 2023 skywatching predictions, NASA and CalTech's [Jet Propulsion Laboratory declared]() that between January 12 and February 2, a green comet named C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will first approach the Sun and then circle back around towards Earth. In the Northern Hemisphere, the JPL post continues, skywatchers will be able to see the comet in the morning sky at the end of January. Observers in the Southern Hemisphere, meanwhile, should be able to see it in early February. *Space.com* [pinpoints the best viewing date]() even more precisely: during the new moon on January 21, when the sky will be extra-dark without the Moon's light. "Comets are notoriously unpredictable," the JPL notes, "but if this one continues its current trend in brightness, it'll be easy to spot with binoculars, and it's just possible it could become visible to the unaided eye under dark skies." ## Jupiter Jones Discovered in March 2022, this rare green comet was spotted using a wide-field survey camera at CalTech's Zwicky Transient Facility within Jupiter's orbit. Since then, it has hurdled ever closer to the Sun, and as [NASA noted in a post]() about the comet, it will reach its perigee, or closest point to us on Earth, on February 1. https://twitter.com/Komet123Jager/status/1608103836937515009 As *Space.com* notes, JPL data suggests that the last time this gorgeous green goblin came this close to Earth was about 50,000 years ago, meaning that the last humans to ever witness it were likely Ice Age-era Neanderthals. Depending on light pollution and weather, it may be tough to see C/2022 E3 (ZTF) as it makes its way towards and away from Earth — but rest assured, skywatchers with expensive telephoto lenses or access to institutional telescopes will manage to get incredible shots of it. **More on fellow travelers:** [*Astronomers Detect "Planet Killer" Asteroid That Poses Small But Real Risk to Earth*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()