C/2022 E3 (ZTF) - Comet

Introduction | Map | My Own Photos | My Own Observations | References

On this page I collect my observations of the comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF).

Introduction

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is a long-period comet from the Oort cloud that was discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) on 2 March 2022. The comet has a bright green glow around its nucleus, due to the effect of sunlight on diatomic carbon and cyanogen. The comet reached its perihelion on 12 January 2023, at a distance of 1.11 AU (166 million km), and the closest approach to Earth was on 1 February 2023, at a distance of 0.28 AU (42 million km). The comet reached magnitude 5 and was visible with the naked eye under moonless dark skies. As of 5 February the comet was within 6 degrees of Capella (about the field of view of common binoculars) and estimated to be about magnitude 6 (from Wikipedia, adapted).

Map

Position of the comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) on February 1, 2023 (Image Courtesy of SkySafari Astronomy, www.simulationcurriculum.com)

My Own Photos

Photos from February 4, 2023 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau, eVscope 2)


C/2022 E3 (ZTF) - 1 min	C/2022 E3 (ZTF) - 2 min	C/2022 E3 (ZTF) - > 4 min*

Nearly full moon without clouds	Ditto	Ditto

*) Since the telescope tracks the star background, the comet gets longer during the observation time, because it moves differently than the stars.

Photos from February 7, 2023 (Mühlhausen/Kraichgau, eVscope 2)


C/2022 E3 (ZTF) - 48 s		C/2022 E3 (ZTF) - 340 s*		C/2022 E3 (ZTF) - 120 s

*) Since the telescope tracks the star background, the comet gets longer during the observation time, because it moves differently than the stars.

My Own Observations

Observations February 2023

February 4, 2023 (Mühlhausen, eVscope2): Observed the comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) with my eVscope 2; luckily, there was a gap in the clouds that allowed my to take photos of the comet. In addition, I photographed the nearly full moon, which disturbed my observations...
February 7, 2023 (Mühlhausen, eVscope2): Observed the comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) with my eVscope 2

References

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) (Wikipedia, EN): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2022_E3_(ZTF)
C/2022 E3 (ZTF) (Wikipedia, DE): de.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2022_E3_(ZTF)