Russian scientists linked to the Institute of Applied Mathematics at Keldysh shared photographs showing two comets on an approach toward Earth. The reports appeared on the institution’s Telegram channel, offering a timely update for the international astronomical community and skywatchers alike.
The first celestial visitor is C/2022 E3, also known as ZTF. It passed relatively close to Earth on February 2 and carries a greenish tint in the images. Its elongated orbit travels around the Sun for more than fifty thousand years, a reminder of the vast timescales at play in our solar system. In the photographs, C/2022 E3 appears exceptionally bright and can be seen toward the lower left portion of the frame, creating a striking highlight for observers using modest equipment. The second comet, C/2022 U2, designated ATLAS, completes an orbit around the Sun roughly every nine hundred forty-five years. While both visitors shine with a respectable brightness, they demand some optical aid for proper viewing: a telescope is generally enough to reveal their silhouettes, though C/2022 E3 can be glimpsed with binoculars under favorable conditions during its closest approach to Earth.
Observers note that both comets came relatively close to our world, positioned at distances of about 0.33 and 0.59 astronomical units, respectively. C/2022 U2, while slightly fainter in the sky, is not dramatically dimmer because it lies roughly twice as far away. In the official notes, the comet nucleus is described as small and not highly active, which helps explain its modest brightness profile. For sky enthusiasts, the timing matters: when the Moon has set and the sky remains dark, C/2022 U2 becomes accessible only with moderately large amateur telescopes, typically in the 15 to 20 centimeter range. In contrast, C/2022 E3 presents a window where binoculars can capture its glow for a period around its closest approach, offering a more approachable target for casual observers on clear nights.
Beyond celestial events, the space industry panorama includes ventures focused on asteroid resource utilization. AstroForge stands out as a notable enterprise exploring metals extraction from asteroids, signaling growing interest in in-space mining as a potential component of future space economies. The company has announced and carried out multiple missions within recent years, reflecting a broader trend toward leveraging near-Earth objects as sources of strategic materials. The intersections of cometary science and robo-telemetry missions illustrate how contemporary space exploration blends observational astronomy with practical engineering aims, highlighting a period of accelerated activity in both ground-based monitoring and autonomous spacecraft operations.