A comet will be visible to the naked eye around February 1, a rare phenomenon

At the time of its discovery on March 2, 2022, using the camera of the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) instrument, the comet had an apparent magnitude – read, luminous intensity – of 17.3. As a reminder, the brighter an object, the weaker, or even negative, its magnitude. After its closest passage to the Sun, on January 12, the star could finally exceed magnitude 6, indicates NASA on son site internet.

However, it is considered that the darkest object that the eye can observe must be of magnitude 6.5, with good observation conditions. If so, from a location sheltered from light pollution, the comet will appear as a speck in the sky, looking toward the north celestial pole in the constellation Camelopardalis. Even if it is not bright enough, it will be still possible to observe it with binoculars or a telescope.

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