Usually celestial events are very precise and known years, if not decades, in advance. Not so with comet C/2020 F3, also known as NEOWISE. NEOWISE was discovered in late March and is considered a surprise as very few people expected its arrival. And unlike other celestial events, the comet is not a one-off — it will be visible at various times throughout July.
Photo: Vasyl Yatsyna/Instagram
A Surprise Comet Is Streaking Across the Sky This Month
Many have been able to capture incredibly clear images of the comet throughout the world. Amateur landscape photographer Vasyl Yatsyna took a remarkable shot of NEOWISE in Switzerland before dawn today:
Photo: Vasyl Yatsyna/Instagram
In Phoenix, Arizona, Chirag A. Patel went for a hike today at 4:00 AM before dawn to catch a glimpse of the comet and was able to capture this superb image:
Photo: chirag5patel/Instagram
NASA explained that the comet is now coming closer to Earth but its brightness is still uncertain. Starting next week, scan the sky northeast with a pair of binoculars, or with the naked eye, in the early morning (around 3:30 AM), and above the northwest horizon just after sunset, to see if you can spot NEOWISE. 