Newly Discovered Comet Is Heading Towards Earth for First Time Since Stone Age

In a journey 50,000 years in the making, a newly discovered comet is barreling towards Earth Wednesday, according to reports.

The comet has been named C/2022 E3 (ZTF), and went into orbit around the sun last month and is now passing through the outer reaches of the solar system, CNN reported.

The comet’s appearance will mark the first time it comes into our solar system since the Stone Age, according to CNN.

Scientists say the comet will make its closest approach to Earth Wednesday.

The news comes after images captured by astronomers last year by NASA showcased the object to have a distinct green hue around its body, according to BBC.

However, don’t fear the comet impacting Earth as it would in a Hollywood blockbuster. In fact, it will still be far away from our planet and its brightness is right at the threshold of what is visible to the naked eye, BBC reported.

"You might have seen these reports saying we're going to get this bright green object lighting up the sky," Dr. Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society, told BBC. "Sadly, that's not going to be anything like the case. If you're lucky, you'll see a hint of the tail coming off it, so it'll look more like a classic comet.”

The comet will still be a distance of more than 100 times the distance the moon is to Earth, CNN said.

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