Currently, the comet is too faint to be observed without the use of powerful telescopes, but it could become visible to the naked eye or through binoculars by September 2024. The comet is currently located between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn and will reach its perihelion, or the point in its orbit closest to the Sun, on September 28, 2024. The fact the comet was found while its so far away is part of the. The best time to observe the comet in the Northern Hemisphere will be between October 12 and October 20, 2024. It is falling inwards, moving on an orbit that will bring it to within 59 million kilometers of the sun in September 2024.

Having seen some brilliant events (mostly solar eclipses), I just pray to see. On the 11th, the comet passes just ½° east of zero-magnitude Mars. On any given night, far from bright city lights, there’s a chance that you’ll see a beautiful streak shoot across the sky as a meteor flies overhead. The comet's official name was given by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Centre on February 28, 2023.Īs per Universe Magazine, the comet has an optimistic maximum brightness forecast of -1 stellar magnitude, which is nearly as bright as Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. The only thing we know about is when periodic comets will make their next. From late January through early February next year, Comet ZTF will be a circumpolar object as it speeds south (6°-7° per day) and transitions from the morning to the evening sky. The comet was discovered on Februby the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in South Africa, and was later identified as the same object previously discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory in China. The Lyrids meteor shower will peak on Saturday night, bringing 10 to 15 meteors per hour to the night sky.

There is a possibility that a bright comet called C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) could be visible in the night sky in 2024, potentially even brighter than the recent 'green comet'.

When will the next comet be visible