{"id":22064,"date":"2023-01-18T20:34:04","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T12:34:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rare-comet-to-be-visible-for-the-first-time-in-50000-years\/"},"modified":"2023-01-18T20:34:04","modified_gmt":"2023-01-18T12:34:04","slug":"rare-comet-to-be-visible-for-the-first-time-in-50000-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rare-comet-to-be-visible-for-the-first-time-in-50000-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare comet to be visible for the first time in 50,000 years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The comet is designated C\/2022 E3 or ZTF after the Zwicky Transient Facility, which first spotted the comet passing Jupiter early last year while conducting its routine survey of the northern night sky from Palomar Observatory in San Diego, California.<\/p>\n

When investigating C\/2022 E3 (ZTF), scientists found that the icy object had a very elongated 50,000-year orbit around the Sun, where the comet travels to the far edge of the Solar System\u2019s Oort Cloud \u2013 the place that could be its origin, University of Maryland\u2019s comet expert Michael Kelley told Space.com. The Oort Cloud is believed to be a thick bubble of comet-like objects that encompasses the entire Solar System. According to NASA, objects that lurk out there can be as large as mountains.<\/p>\n

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Comet C\/2022 E3 (ZTF) current orbital path through the Solar System as projected on November 16, 2022. NASA HORIZONS<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

C\/2022 E3 (ZTF) made its closest approach to the Sun on January 12 and is currently hurdling out of the inner Solar System, where it will subsequently pass nearest to Earth on February 2 at around 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) away, says NASA.<\/p>\n