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.
