Friday, December 30, 2022

Hello, Comet

 Comets don't swing by that often. Halley's Comet is once every 75 years or so. But some comets have even longer orbits.

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is heading for its rendezvous with the sun at the end of January through beginning of February. It's small, so we may or may not be able to see it. It's not one of those big, spectacular comets.

It doesn't have a name because the last time this particular celestial visitor dropped in...was 50,000 years ago.

To give some idea, the Neanderthals became "extinct" about 40,000 years ago. In fact, when this comet last graced the sky, modern humans hadn't made it to Europe yet!

That's a pretty long trip.

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