Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2022 December 24
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                             Comet 2022 E3 (ZTF)
                Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Dan Bartlett

   Explanation: [5]Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was discovered by astronomers
   using the wide-field survey camera at the Zwicky Transient Facility
   this year in early March. Since then the new [6]long-period comet has
   brightened substantially and is now sweeping across the northern
   constellation Corona Borealis in predawn skies. It's still too dim to
   see without a telescope though. [7]But this fine telescopic image from
   December 19 does show [8]the comet's brighter greenish coma, short
   broad dust tail, and long faint ion tail stretching across a 2.5 degree
   wide field-of-view. [9]On a voyage through the inner Solar System comet
   2022 E3 will be [10]at perihelion, its closest to the Sun, in the new
   year on January 12 and at perigee, its closest to our fair planet, on
   February 1. The brightness of comets is [11]notoriously unpredictable,
   but by then C/2022 E3 (ZTF) could become only just visible to the eye
   in dark night skies.

                    Tomorrow's picture: stars and mittens
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [23]Robert Nemiroff ([24]MTU) & [25]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([26]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [27]Specific rights apply.
              [28]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [29]ASD at [30]NASA / [31]GSFC,
                         [32]NASA Science Activation
                           & [33]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2212/c2022E3_ZTF_Bartlett.png
   3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
   4. https://www.astrobin.com/users/h2ologg/
   5. https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/new-comet-might-get-bright-enough-for-binoculars/
   6. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/oort-cloud/overview/
   7. https://www.astrobin.com/57vepp/B/
   8. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/comets/in-depth/
   9. https://theskylive.com/c2022e3-info
  10. https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20230112_19_100
  11. https://i.redd.it/q065n6zy2r401.jpg
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221223.html
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  16. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  21. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=221224
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221225.html
  23. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  25. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  26. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  28. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  29. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  30. https://www.nasa.gov/
  31. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  32. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  33. http://www.mtu.edu/