Comet 2022 E3 (ZTF)

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) as it passed the Earth on the 19th January 2023. Discovered on the 2nd March 2022, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is a long-period comet originating from the Oort cloud, which is approximately 149 billion kilometres away from our Sun. The comet gets its characteristic green glow from the ejection of diatomic carbon and cyanogen from its nucleus to the coma (atmosphere) as it is heated by the Sun. The comet has two tails (left), one composed of dust and the other composed of gas ionised by ultraviolet radiation, causing it to glow. Along with its two tails, the comet possesses a third anti-tail going towards the Sun (right), which is attributed to an optical illusion only observed for a brief interval when the Earth passes through the comet's orbital plane. Photographed from the Dark Sky Alqueva Observatory, Portugal, between the constellations of Hercules, Corona Borealis and Bootes., by MIGUEL CLARO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY