Magnificent green comet pictured from around the world

The interstellar object has not been near Earth since the time of Neanderthals

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  A green comet named Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), which last passed by Earth about 50,000 years ago, is seen from Spain's island of Gran Canaria

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  A view of the comet as seen from Kryoneri in Greece

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  The comet over the skies of San Bernadino County, California, as it approaches Earth

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  The moon is seen through the open canopy of the Kryoneri Observatory, before the telescope tracks the green comet

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  Post-doctoral researcher Alexios Liakos talks to senior researcher Manolis Xylouris as they track the comet from the Kryoneri Observatory

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  A view of a screen shows the tracking of the green comet by researchers at the Kryoneri Observatory

Stargazers snapped pictures of a magnificent green comet as it appeared in skies around the world on Wednesday night.

The comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) has not been near Earth in 50,000 years — since the time Neanderthals walked the face of the planet.

The rare phenomenon come within 42 million km of Earth on Wednesday, scientists said.

The comet was photographed from Spain, Greece and California on Wednesday.

If you missed it, there may still be chances to catch a glimpse of the cosmic entity over the coming days — but not for long.

The comet is expected to gradually fade away and disappear from view over the next week. Its trajectory will take it past the bright star Capella on February 5, after which it is expected to swing by Mars on February 10.

It will probably be the last chance for keen stargazers to see the comet as its orbit around the Sun takes about 50,000 years to complete.

The comet, which gets its colour from the presence of gaseous chemical diatomic carbon, was discovered in March 2022 by astronomers at the Zwicky Transient Facility.

A live stream of the comet was broadcast by the YouTube channel TheRealPax.