Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) with a short third tail to the left of the comet and longer gas and dust tails to the right of the comet
A rare green comet that’s been streaking across the night sky as it approaches Earth for the first time since the Stone Age briefly grew a bizarre third tail. This ‘anti-tail’ appeared to streak in the wrong direction, seemingly breaking the rules of physics. The comet, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) – but more commonly referred to as the ‘green comet’ thanks to a chemical reaction that emits a greenish glow around the cosmic cannonball – was first discovered in March 2022 heading towards Earth from the Oort Cloud, a collection of icy objects in the outer Solar System.