Idaho’s Chance To See Rare Green Comet Coming After 50,000 Years
I've written a few stories in the past years that have dealt with the same celestial events Idahoans are used to being reminded of annually. There is an opportunity to view an incredibly rare type of space rock that hasn't been seen since cavemen/women aimlessly wandered the Earth more than 50,000 years ago, which makes this heads-up effort a bit unique.
We're all familiar with hearing about blood moons, eclipses, Leonid and Taurid meteor showers, and other things that go whoosh in the night sky. The opportunity to witness something we non-vampires will only get the chance to see once in our lifetimes is a whole other galactic enchilada.
Although the rare, once-in-a-lifetime C/2022 E3 (ZTF) comet (aka "Green Comet) has already come into view for some people who own really impressive, industrial-type space-viewing tools, the rest of us get our chance to see the vivid, incredibly fast-moving rock during its peak passing position in about a week.
There might be some conflicting information online as to when this atmospheric marvel is really coming into view for Idaho and the rest of North America, so I thought I'd present you with data from those who really know. Space.com says that February 1-2 will be the time the comet will pass closest to the planet Earth for the first time in 50,000 years.
The forecast so far for the Magic Valley on these two days is partly cloudy and very cold, according to weather.com. A northwest vantage point and some binoculars or a telescope will be necessary to see the comet on these two evenings. Make sure you get to a location that has no light pollution.