A man in northwest Indiana captured images of a rare “green comet” Wednesday passing by Earth for the first time in 50,000 years.
Photographer Patrick Thompson of LaPorte County had set up his equipment in the rural Mills Creek area when he spotted C/2022 E3, commonly referred to as the “green comet,” according to a report.
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C/2022 E3 was first discovered in a survey motioning nonpermanent moving objects in the solar system, the report noted.
Thompson, who is described as a space enthusiast, noticed the “green comet” while he was battling the cold, he said.
“It was a pretty powerful thing to see, but it was also really cold out,” according to Thompson. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I feel like it’s been cloudy lately.”
Using a modified Canon 60D camera and a guided star tracker, Thompson captured images of the rare event.
“It’s a motor that spins at the same rotation of Earth,” Thompson said. “The camera, it will follow the star and wherever you point it, it will follow it.”
The moon’s brightness made it difficult to track the comet, he said.
“You can barely make it out with your own eyes,” he said. “Binoculars made it easy. I used a telescope.”
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The comet could be visible Sunday, according to the report.
