Green comet will appear in the night sky for the first time since the Stone Age

[Squire Haggard]

If I get a clear sky, I'll look out for it.

''A recently discovered green comet will soon zip by Earth for the first time in 50,000 years. It was last visible in the night sky during the Stone Age.
Discovered on March 2, 2022, by astronomers using the Zwicky Transient Facility’s wide-field survey camera at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, the comet made its closest approach to the sun on January 12, according to NASA.''

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The DM headline below..... .. The journos must be one generation away from being NEANDERTHALS which might explain a lot. 

''Look up tonight! 'Once in a generation' green comet will zip past Earth for the first time since the age of the NEANDERTHALS 50,000 years ago - how and when to see it''

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[daviemac]

It was last visible in the night sky during the Stone Age.

How do they know? 

[mr.bluesky]

Yes I read about this the other day. Chances are it will be cloudy when it appears in the night sky and you won't see it  At least at the moment we seem to be having a lot of cloudless night sky's at the moment. Hopefully this will be the case when this comet passes by.

[mikecee]

I thought Green Comet was another Marvel comics character. 

[mr.bluesky]

How do they know? 

Same way they knew about Halleys comet passing by every so often. Astronomers can predict its future and past positions in the night sky as they pass by so frequently.

[mr.bluesky]

I thought Green Comet was another Marvel comics character. 

That's Green Lantern  ( DC comics)

[RandomGuy99]

Early this morning was the best time to see it.

[Blackpool Rock]

Same way they knew about Halleys comet passing by every so often. Astronomers can predict its future and past positions in the night sky as they pass by so frequently.

Yeah but Halleys does as you say come around every so often (75 years) so it's been well chronicled and documented whereas this one won't have been unless someone finds an old stone tablet with a drawing on it 

In this instance i'm guessing that they have been tracking it's movement since it was 1st seen and they can then track where it will go and also track it back to where it's come from 

[timsussex]

Comets follow an elliptical path given 3 or more points and applying the laws of gravity the total path can be calculated and the time it takes. The accuracy of the time taken will depend on the length of the time hence the fairly vague 50,000 years as opposed to Halleys 76 years

[Squire Haggard]

I'm guessing that because comets orbit the Sun, it makes it possible to calculate their orbit and the time it takes.

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PS. I notice that the DM has changed its headline linked in the OP from ''Once in a generation''...........''last seen by Neanderthals.'' 

[mr.bluesky]

Yeah but Halleys does as you say come around every so often (75 years) so it's been well chronicled and documented whereas this one won't have been unless someone finds an old stone tablet with a drawing on it 

In this instance i'm guessing that they have been tracking it's movement since it was 1st seen and they can then track where it will go and also track it back to where it's come from 

Over a period of time some comets pass closer to the Sun so loose a lot of its mass of gas, ice and dust and eventually there's nothing left of them. Halleys comet will next pass by earth in 2061

[JontyR]

This doesn't, of course, mean that there won't be other green comets. Just that this one is on a path that means it won't be this close again for that time.

[timsussex]

.......

PS. I notice that the DM has changed its headline linked in the OP from ''Once in a generation''...........''last seen by Neanderthals.'' 

that could have been last week at Old Trafford !   

[Squire Haggard]

that could have been last week at Old Trafford !

Do they still have Neanderthals there? 

[timsussex]

Actually according to The Smithsonian we can each have up to 9% Neanderthal genes

perhaps I should have said St James Park 

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[mr.bluesky]

Actually according to The Smithsonian we can each have up to 9% Neanderthal genes

perhaps I should have said St James Park 

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I bet it takes a few bottles of Newcie brown to build a belly like that 

[B4bcock]

Actually according to The Smithsonian we can each have up to 9% Neanderthal genes

perhaps I should have said St James Park 

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I've shagged women with far worse tits than those.  Not a bad pair, really.   

[Blackpool Rock]

I've shagged women with far worse tits than those.  Not a bad pair, really.   

Don't talk about his mates like that 

[mr.bluesky]

Getting back on topic, too cloudy last night to see it, tonight will probably be the same