Facts about C/2022 E3, the green comet
You may have already read in the news about the visit of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), colloquially called the green comet because of its unusual greenish glow. This comet will have its closest approach to Earth this February 01, and can be observed with the naked eye from places with little light pollution.
Comet C2022 E3 (ZTF). Source: Wikimedia.org
In the news it is said that the last time this comet visited our solar system was approximately 50000 years ago, that is, when modern humans were just beginning to cook on campfires and were still living with the Neanderthals. But let's see why this comet is so unusual.
Its name derives from the scientific nomenclature used to identify comets, although previously they were named in honor of their discoverer, as the famous Halley's comet, with the large number of objects that are observed in the night sky thanks to modern instruments made necessary a more systematized nomenclature, which is why currently comets are designated by a code that denotes the year and half of the month of discovery followed by a number indicating the order in which it was discovered; the middle of the month is denoted by the letters of the alphabet, A being the first half of January, B the second half of January, C the first half of February, D would be the second half of February.
A prefix is also added before the name consisting of a letter that refers to the periodicity of the comet, using P if it is periodic, C if it is not periodic, X if it has not been possible to determine its orbit, among others.
According to this criterion, comet C/2022 E3 was so named because: it is not periodic (C), it was discovered in 2022, in the first half of March (hence the E), the number 3 refers to the fact that it is the third object discovered in that period. And the letters ZTF that are usually added after the name allude to the fact that the comet was discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility project.
January 09 view of C/2022 E3. Source: Wikimedia.org.
Regarding the trajectory of this comet, scientists estimate that before the recent visit of C/2022 E3 its orbit was elliptical, not bound to our solar system, with an orbital period of 52000 years, and although they are not sure about the departure orbit, the close passage by the planets of our solar system will alter its orbit, and although it is not possible to determine how far it will travel this time, the consensus this time the green comet will leave our solar system completely.
And the nickname green comet is due to the fact that this comet glows with an unusual green color, thanks to an unusual chemical reaction, in which the diatonic carbon (C2) present in the comet's head is broken down by ultraviolet light from the sun, resulting in photodissociation of the molecule, and in its lowest triplet state, the breakdown of C2 emits a blue-green fluorescence.
Well friends, no doubt that the visit of this comet is one of the first and most important astronomical events of the year, let's hope that light pollution does not ruin the moment.
Thanks for coming by to read friends, I hope you liked the information. See you next time.
