Green comet to be visible over Irish skies next week

A green coloured comet, which only orbits the sun every 50,000 years, will be visible to the naked eye above Ireland this week and next.

According to David Moore of Astronomy Ireland, it will be at its brightest next Wednesday and Thursday, February 1 and 2.

Officially known as Comet C/2022 E3 or ZTF, it was discovered last March from the Zwicky Transient Facility in California.

It will be some 43 million kilometers from Earth at its closest approach, which is about one-third of the distance between the Earth and the sun.

Moore advises people to get away from lights of the big cities and towns for the best chance of spotting the comet.

“The comet will be near the North Star. It will be visible from dusk to dawn so you don’t have to perfectly time your viewing,” he told The Journal.

Binoculars or a telescope will make the comet much easier to see.