I have always been mesmerized by the marvels of the universe. However, while I am captivated by the realms of space, it’s not really possible for a commoner like me to explore all its glory.
Speaking of which, skywatchers in the northern hemisphere might be able to catch a glimpse of a newly-discovered comet this month with the naked eye, reports HT. The comet, which was discovered through the NEOWISE (Near Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) space telescope, has been named after the telescope and has also been dubbed as C/2020 F3.
Here's my shot of the Comet #Neowise. First time ever seeing one with naked eye… and it lived up to the hype. pic.twitter.com/xSEqtzrSEL
— Kyle Noël (@KyleNoel15) July 10, 2020
Located around 194 million miles (312 million kilometers) from the sun, the NEOWISE comet will make its closest approach to the Earth in the month of July 2020, reports News18. After approaching the sun on July 3, the comet has now started moving towards the Earth. The comet is expected to make its closest appearance to Earth on July 22, reports the WION.
During the next revolution I tried to capture the C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) comet a bit closer, the brightest one over the last 7 years.
Its tail is quite clearly visible from the @Space_Station!#ISS #comet #NEOWISE pic.twitter.com/FnWkCummD6
— Ivan Vagner (@ivan_mks63) July 4, 2020
According to NASA, “The comet takes about 6,800 years to make one lap around its long, stretched out orbit, so it won’t visit the inner solar system again for many thousands of years.”
Few lucky ones have already spotted the comet and shared stunning images for us to gaze at:
Last night's fireworks, for real. Because Science. #NEOWISE #comet pic.twitter.com/IKcJ1wLFAl
— Bob Behnken (@AstroBehnken) July 5, 2020
Comet Neowise photographed in #Tucson about an hour ago! #cometneowise #NEOWISE pic.twitter.com/UFYu8Ia0XK
— Sean Parker (@seanparkerphoto) July 8, 2020
I have a strong dislike of early mornings—but so worth it today because wow is that comet beautiful! C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) I was at Sunset Crater by 4AM. It was an easy naked-eye object, but really rewarding through binoculars. Last pic is closest to naked eye scale.#neowise pic.twitter.com/1I0Cx2fZQJ
— Jeremy Perez (@jperez1690) July 5, 2020
Last night I scoured Google Earth lining up roads that would matched the bearing of where the comet would rise this morning. Finally found a spot along my favorite road in Wupatki National Monument and narrowed to this creviced bend to work with. #neowise #cometneowise 1/ pic.twitter.com/zI3TkVlv1H
— Jeremy Perez (@jperez1690) July 9, 2020
Comet C/2020 F3 #NEOWISE ☄️
Taken this morning from suburban Nevada. Definitely felt like a weird guy standing on the street with my camera and tripod at 4am in front of strangers' houses but it was entirely worth it! 😅 pic.twitter.com/eXHOpoPg07
— brian fulda 🌌 (@brianfulda) July 8, 2020
#cometNEOWISE rises over Balanced Rock in @ArchesNPS
Long impressive tail this morning! #NEOWISE @CanonUSApro @NatGeoPhotos pic.twitter.com/nGG8bPdAzd— Terrence Cook (@tcookmedia) July 10, 2020
Visible el cometa #NEOWISE pic.twitter.com/hmeT8liLIT
— Noticias Cartagena (@cartagena_hoy) July 10, 2020
Despite very high humidity and unexpected clouds I managed to get a couple more photos of comet #NEOWISE this time mostly with a 50mm prime lens. This time I also shot a cheeky back portrait😅
Timelapse and images can be found here: https://t.co/uASsSBKUn7 pic.twitter.com/3u9IwXomvF— Victor Boesen (@victor_boesen) July 10, 2020
Comet NEOWISE shining bright this morning in Huron County, Ontario. Visible to the naked eye! Definitely one worth waking up at 3:30 am for. @c2020f3 pic.twitter.com/DO5s9ZyWEn
— Jason O'Young (@jasonoyoung) July 6, 2020
The comet, which will pass at a distance of about 103 million kilometers from earth, will be faintly visible to the naked eye. So, in case, you wish to see the NEOWISE comet, all you need is a pair of binoculars and the exact spot of the passing. In order to locate the comet, you can use specialized apps with interactive maps of the constellations.
So, what are you waiting for? Don’t miss out on this opportunity as the comet will be visible after a very long gap later.