Thrilling experience of spotting comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)!

✪Thrilling experience of spotting it through my telescope

✪ Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is visible through binoculars
✪ Need dark skies and precise sky- location of the comet
✪ Its position changes rapidly
✪ Will be brightest around 1st  February

Hello all. Some of you may be knowing that one comet- C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is visible these days. It is not bright enough to be seen only through eyes as of 24th January. But it is visible through binoculars or a small telescope. What you need is a location with dark sky. That means a place at least 20 kms away from any city lights. You also need a detailed sky mapping app like Sky safari along with proper sky orientation and knowledge of major constellations. But just these would not be sufficient. You would also need some practice of watching sky objects, particularly dim objects.

Here I share how I spotted this wonderful comet. Yesterday, on 23rd January, there was a sky watching session in Anjanwel Agro Tourism near Lonavala. This was arranged by Marathwada Mitra Mandal’s College of Architecture, Pune and I got opportunity to conduct it. During the session, I could show rings of Saturn, moons of Jupiter, wonderful crescent moon, Pleiades etc objects to them. Saturn and Venus were close to each. The sky in Shilimb village was really excellent for observation. I was really eager to try my luck with Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF). Earlier I had tried for comets Leonard and NEOwise, but was unable to find them after several attempts. Either I was looking at wrong direction or the sky conditions were not suitable. So this time I had waited for the comet to be sufficiently brightened and also till I got good dark sky.

As per its sky position, the comet was an early morning target. It was very cold at 4.30 am, but that only means that visibility would be good. I checked its latest position on the app Sky Safari. It was in the constellation Draco, near the famous Ursa Major. Also some distance away from the bright star of Arcturus. As per its position, I derived its approximate sky location. Then by using my judgment, started to navigate through that portion of the sky. By placing the telescope in desired direction, I moved it slightly. The comet is just near iota Draconis, Edasich! Just within 15 minutes, I could locate a faint cloud- like spot. Then I again checked its position on the app. Checked its relative position with nearby stars in the sky! Yes, it was the comet only! I observed it for one hour. Slowly I could also identify its greenish colour. What a joy it is!

I could spot it because I also knew what to expect. I was not looking for some very bright image or some long object. I knew its brightness was just about visible in these conditions. Despite of clear sky in the night, the sky at the dawn had some fog and visibility was low. Even stars in the Scorpio were not as bright as they regularly are. But thankfully, many faint stars are visible near region of the comet. So, this comet is visible like a faint cloudy spot. Of course, in more dark skies and better conditions, it would be more clear. In these conditions, its 4- degree long tail was not visible, only its nucleus is visible as a faint spot. The comet was looking very similar to the way Andromeda galaxy is seen through a small telescope from cities.

I then tried to take some shots of the comet. I attached my mobile phone to the eyepiece of the telescope through an adapter. Then I set the shutter speed to 4 seconds and ISO to 3600. But despite of many attempts, I could only get very raw and dim images. But experience of actually watching the comet was a treat.

You can watch it in coming days as it will be at its brightest around 1st February, when it will be the closest to our Earth. You would need a good quality binocular, dark sky and also good judgment of sky positions. It is worth giving a trial. It is also good to practice some patience. And who knows, it may even get much brighter and even can be seen through naked eyes, as some have predicted. Let’s be ready and try to watch it. After all, it is a guest arrived after 50,000 years to meet our Sun!

(Thanks for reading! You can enjoy the photos on the blog link given above. You can also read about my experiences of trekking, cycling, running, meditation, sky watching etc. there. If you wish to get updates of such activities, you can contact me. Niranjan Welankar 09422108376)