RARE Green Comet seen in Abu Dhabi; You can still watch it; it will come after 50000 years

An extremely rare green comet, which has made a once-in-50000-year appearance from space was spotted in Abu Dhabi on January 14. The International Astronomy Centre (IAC) tweeted this message while sharing the video, "A video of the movement of comet C2022 E3 (ZTF) from the UAE sky at dawn today, Saturday, January 14, 2023 CE, from 05:01 to 05:36 UAE time." The rare comet was seen at magnitude 6.5 with a dust tail, while its ionic tail was seen opposite the Sun at 307 degrees. This comet is has appeared for the first time in 50000 years! That means this is the last opportunity for anyone to take a look at this comet as astronomers believe it may never come back again.

Don’t fret! If you think you missed this golden opportunity to catch the glimpse of this once-in-a-lifetime event, then you still have a chance! Comet 2022 E3 (ZTF) can be best seen when gets to the closest point to Earth. It will do that soon. Know all details here, when, and how to watch this rare comet in the sky.

When to watch the Comet 2022 E3 (ZTF)

NASA says that the comet is on a voyage through the inner Solar System and was at perihelion, its closest to the Sun, on January 12. However, it was spotted on January 14 for a split second by an astronomy centre in Abu Dhabi. Perigee, which is closest to our Earth, will be on February 1. The brightness of comets is notoriously unpredictable, but by then C/2022 E3 (ZTF) could become visible to the eye in dark night skies. All you need to be in an area with relatively low light pollution and clear sky.

How to watch the Comet 2022 E3 online

You can also catch this rare comet live! The Virtual Telescope Project, an online telescope webcast platform hosted a free livestream of the comet on January 14. It will show this comet live, online again on the day of its close approach to the Earth. You can watch the livestream directly on the website or on the YouTube channel.