Hey there followers! I have some exciting news to share with all you stargazers out there. Keep an eye out for Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in 2023. While you’ll need a telescope or binoculars to spot it at first, there’s a chance that this comet could become visible to the naked eye under dark skies throughout January and early February. If this does happen, it will be the first comet that can be seen with the naked eye since NEOWISE in 2020.

Comet C/2022 E3 was discovered last March while it was within Jupiter’s orbit. Its current trajectory will bring it closest to the sun on January 12th and at its nearest position to Earth on February 2nd, about 26.4 million miles (42.5 million kilometers) away. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will appear in the early morning sky in January, moving northwest and passing between the Little and Big Dippers towards the end of the month. In the Southern Hemisphere, it might be visible in early February. However, comets can often be unpredictable, so we’ll just have to wait and see if it stays on course.

Comets don’t emit their own light, but are made up of ice, gases, rock, and dust. Melting ice creates the comet’s tail and reflects the sun’s light, giving it a glowing appearance. While Comet C/20