Keen astronomers will be gazing skywards soon to catch a glimpse of a rare comet not seen since the time Neanderthals roamed the planet.
And what could be the best comet of the the year will also probably never be seen again as once it leaves sight of Earth, it will zoom off into outer space never to return. D-Day for sightings is said to be February 1 when it will make its closest approach to our world – hence when it will be at its brightest – 20 days after journeying round the Sun.
Comet C/2023 E3 (ZTF) was first spotted in March 2022 by the Zwicky Transient Facility at the Palmora Observatory in California, and it started its long journey in the far outer reaches of the solar system, within the Oort Cloud, a collection of icy objects further away than everything else. It can be viewed from now but only with powerful telescopes, reports Metro.
