Multimedia

Brightest in Decades NEOWISE Comet Flying High in the Skies

Sputnik

An ordinary bystander would be able to see the comet, which is the brightest since Hale-Bopp made its appearance in 1997, with their naked eyes from very dark Northern Hemisphere locations during a short window of time this week.

In the morning, the comet appears low above the north-eastern horizon, below Capella. In the evening, the comet can be seen low in the north-western sky.

1 / 10
The comet Neowise is seen from near Effingham, Kan., Monday, July 13, 2020.
2 / 10
The Comet NEOWISE or C/2020 F3 is seen above Salgotarjan, Hungary, early Friday, July 10, 2020. It passed closest to the Sun on July 3 and its closest approach to the Earth will occur on July 23.
3 / 10
The comet Neowise or C/2020 F3 is seen behind an Orthodox church over the Turrets, Belarus, 110 kilometres (69 miles) west of capital Minsk, early Tuesday, July 14, 2020.
4 / 10
A person is looking at the Comet C/2020 or "Neowise", which is seen in the sky over Ballintoy, Britain July 8, 2020, in this picture taken from a social media. Picture taken July 8, 2020.
5 / 10
The Comet C/2020 F3, known as "Neowise", is seen in the sky over Montlucon, France July 8, 2020, in this screengrab taken from a social media video. Picture taken July 8, 2020.
6 / 10
The comet Neowise or C/2020 F3 is seen before sunrise in the starry sky over the Allgau landscape in Bad Woerishofen, southern Germany, on July 12, 2020. The comet was discovered by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or NEOWISE, on March 27, 2020. Since then, the comet — called comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE and nicknamed comet NEOWISE — has been spotted by several NASA spacecraft, including Parker Solar Probe, NASA’s Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory, the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, and astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
7 / 10
The Comet "Neowise" is seen in the sky over Nayoro, Hokkaido, Japan July 11, 2020, in this still image taken from a video.
8 / 10
The Comet C/2020 or "Neowise" is seen in the sky behind the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy, July 13, 2020. Picture taken July 13, 2020.
9 / 10
The Comet C/2020 or "Neowise" is seen in the sky from the "Puerto del Viento" mountain pass (1190 metres/3904 feet altitude) at dawn in Ronda, southern Spain, July 15, 2020.
10 / 10
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 ISS.
Discuss