Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is a long period comet that was discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) on March 2 March 2022. It made its close approach to the Sun during January 2023, becoming quite bright and an easy observation target. This comet has a near-parabolic orbit with a perihelion distance of 1.11 astronomical units and an aphelion distance estimated to be about 2800 AU. After the perihelion passage the comet is now becoming fainter as it is moving away from the sun towards the external solar system.

Find it in the Sky

Chose a date & time and view the position of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in the sky on our interactive planetarium.

Time: : UTC

EnglishItaliano Español

Comets »

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)

Below the horizon. Never rises today

Alt: -83.06° Az: 119.78° Direction: South-South-West

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is in the constellation of Horologium, at a distance of 1,377,811,882.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 03h 05m 29s and the Declination is -54° 29’ 28” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 19.97).

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Loading the finder chart...

Star map showing the position of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in the constellation of Horologium on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.

Loading the finder chart...

Star map showing the position of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in the constellation of Horologium on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
RA: 03h 04m 45s
Dec: -54° 35’ 21”

Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

Right Ascension 03h 05m 29s

Declination -54° 29’ 28”

Hour Angle 12h 41m 35s

Sidereal Time 15h 47m 05s

J2000

Right Ascension 03h 04m 45s

Declination -54° 35’ 21”

Additional Information

Constellation Horologium

Observed Magnitude (COBS) n/a

Coma Diameter (COBS) n/a

Tail Length (COBS) n/a

Observation Date (COBS) n/a

Predicted Magnitude (JPL) 19.97

The observed values of Magnitude, Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted Magnitude as a directional indication. We acknowledge with thanks the comet observations from the COBS Comet Observation Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this table to report recent comet observations.

Rise and Set Times

The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Greenwich, UKToday comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is not visible from

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Distance from Earth

The distance of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) from Earth is currently 1,377,811,882.0 kilometers, equivalent to 9.2101035633 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1h 16m 35.886s to travel from comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) and arrive to us.

Distance Km 1,377,811,882.0

Distance AU 9.2101035633

Light Travel Time 1h 16m 35.886s

The following graph shows the distance of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

The value of the distance of C/2022 E3 (ZTF) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) to Earth happened on Thursday 2 February 2023 at a distance of 0.284064 Astronomical Units, or 42,495,383 kilometers:

Date Thursday 2 February 2023

Distance Kilometers 42,495,383

Distance AU 0.284064

Note: the values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

Chart of the magnitude of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) at epoch October, 20 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459873.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element	Symbol	Value
Orbit eccentricity	e	1.00030190
Orbit inclination	i	109.16948022°
Perihelion distance	q	1.11224437 AU 166,389,390 km
Aphelion distance	Q	n.a.
Semi-major axis	a	n.a.
Orbital period	period	n.a.
Date of perihelion transit	Tp	January 12, 2023 2,459,957.2852 JD
Argument of perihelion	peri	145.81492866851°
Longitude of the ascending node	node	302.55501922358°
Mean anomaly	M	-0.00036928712667236°
Mean motion	n	0.00000441°/day

Orbit Visualization

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
Jun 18 2025	03h 02m 29s	-53° 56’ 26”	19.95	Horologium
Jun 19 2025	03h 02m 54s	-54° 00’ 21”	19.95	Horologium
Jun 20 2025	03h 03m 18s	-54° 04’ 21”	19.96	Horologium
Jun 21 2025	03h 03m 41s	-54° 08’ 26”	19.96	Horologium
Jun 22 2025	03h 04m 04s	-54° 12’ 34”	19.96	Horologium
Jun 23 2025	03h 04m 27s	-54° 16’ 48”	19.96	Horologium
Jun 24 2025	03h 04m 49s	-54° 21’ 06”	19.96	Horologium
Jun 25 2025	03h 05m 10s	-54° 25’ 29”	19.96	Horologium
Jun 26 2025	03h 05m 31s	-54° 29’ 57”	19.97	Horologium
Jun 27 2025	03h 05m 52s	-54° 34’ 28”	19.97	Horologium
Jun 28 2025	03h 06m 13s	-54° 39’ 05”	19.97	Horologium
Jun 29 2025	03h 06m 33s	-54° 43’ 45”	19.97	Horologium
Jun 30 2025	03h 06m 53s	-54° 48’ 30”	19.97	Horologium
Jul 01 2025	03h 07m 12s	-54° 53’ 18”	19.97	Horologium

Ephemeris Calculator

Compute the position of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) for any date and time between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099 and display the results on an interactive star map.