Days after the uncommon green comet Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3) made its closest approach to the Sun, scientists noticed something out of the ordinary. It is expected that the uncommon green comet will be seen to the naked eye sometime in the first week of February as it makes its approach nearer Earth.
Something strange is occurring to the comet's tail, and astronomers have discovered it is getting separated. It's separating now. Photographed by Austrian astronomer Michael Jaeger on January 17, the comet seemed to have a tail that was somewhat detached from the rest of its body. The comet may have been disconnected because to solar wind. In 2018, scientists observed that comets commonly produce straight and thin plasma tails when interacting with the solar wind.
Magnetic reconnection in the tail of Comet ZTF (C/2022 E3), which may have been generated by a coronal mass ejection from the Sun, is thought to be responsible for the comet's apparent break in continuity. Multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have reportedly passed by Comet ZTF as a consequence of increased solar activity, as reported by Spaceweather.com. Disconnection happened because of one of them.
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Zwicky Transient Facility's wide-field survey camera first observed comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in March last year, when it was still well inside Jupiter's orbit. Initially thought to be an asteroid, it developed a tail when the heat from the Sun melted the ice on its surface. Its magnitude was 17.3 when it was first seen.
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The comet was photographed by India's Himalayan Chandra Telescope as it made its journey through the inner planets and toward the Sun. The last time this comet appeared in Earth's sky was during the Upper Paleolithic era, when Neanderthals still roamed the Earth and early homo sapiens were just beginning to appear. It has a period of around 50,000 years.
