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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 5:54  ☀️ Transit: 12:05  🌅 Sunset: 18:16

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is currently in the constellation of Eridanus. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is 04h 47m 38s and the Declination is -06° 19’ 03” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is 12.32 (JPL).

04h 47m 38s
-06° 19’ 03”
Eridanus
12.32

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 96.4°
Max altitude: 32.1°
Azimuth: 263.6°
  • C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is visible with the help of a telescope havng an aperture of 8 inches (200mm) or more.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

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.

Available Resources

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.

Map showing Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in Eridanus on March, 24 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Map showing Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in Eridanus on March, 24 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
 = visible to the naked eye
 = binocular, brighter than 10th magnitude
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
RA: 04h 47m 38s
Dec: -06° 19’ 03”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) from Earth is currently 241,436,315 kilometers, equivalent to 1.613902 Astronomical Units. Light takes 13 minutes and 25.3449 seconds to travel from Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) and arrive to us.

241,436,315
1.613902
13 minutes and 25.3449 seconds

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

Chart of the distance of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. 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 and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) to Earth happens on Thu Feb 2 2023 at a distance of 0.284031 Astronomical Units, or 42,490,414 kilometers:

Thu Feb 2 2023
42,490,414
0.284031

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

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) Brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is 12.32.

12.32
-
-

The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated 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.

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

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

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) at epoch 13 August 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459805.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00027078
Orbit inclination i 109.16842490°
Perihelion distance q 1.11222349 AU
166,386,266 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2023-Jan-12 18:51:43
2,459,957.2859 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 145.81586419901°
Longitude of the ascending node node 302.55373400062°
Mean anomaly M -0.00056827755196226°
Mean motion n 0.00000374°/day

Visualization of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
View Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Mar 17 04h 43m 48s -04° 43’ 54” 11.94 Eridanus
2023 Mar 18 04h 44m 17s -04° 58’ 37” 11.99 Eridanus
2023 Mar 19 04h 44m 47s -05° 12’ 47” 12.05 Eridanus
2023 Mar 20 04h 45m 19s -05° 26’ 26” 12.10 Eridanus
2023 Mar 21 04h 45m 51s -05° 39’ 33” 12.16 Eridanus
2023 Mar 22 04h 46m 23s -05° 52’ 14” 12.21 Eridanus
2023 Mar 23 04h 46m 56s -06° 04’ 27” 12.26 Eridanus
2023 Mar 24 04h 47m 30s -06° 16’ 18” 12.31 Eridanus
2023 Mar 25 04h 48m 05s -06° 27’ 46” 12.36 Eridanus
2023 Mar 26 04h 48m 39s -06° 38’ 53” 12.41 Eridanus
2023 Mar 27 04h 49m 15s -06° 49’ 41” 12.46 Eridanus
2023 Mar 28 04h 49m 53s -07° 00’ 11” 12.51 Eridanus
2023 Mar 29 04h 50m 30s -07° 10’ 23” 12.55 Eridanus
2023 Mar 30 04h 51m 06s -07° 20’ 21” 12.60 Eridanus