A comet not seen since the Stone Age will streak across the night sky this month in a “once-in-a-civilization” sight, providing observers are lucky enough to catch a glimpse.
Initially believed to be an asteroid, the comet was first detected by astronomers Frank Masci and Bryce Bolin at the Palomar Observatory in Southern California in March 2022, according to Space.com. Later observations however showed the “asteroid” had a “very tightly condensed coma” – an indicator of a comet – traveling approximately 399 million miles away from the sun, near the orbit of Jupiter, the outlet reported.
After further observation, astronomers were able to determine that the comet, dubbed C/2022 E3, had an orbit that lasted approximately 50,000 years, placing its previous journey through our solar system during the Old Stone Age, Space.com reported.
Hellbound and Down 