After two previous comets failed to produce the hoped-for sky-shows earlier this year, Comet Neowise is on the way toward Earth and it could be about to light up the sky.
The comet, which was named C/2020 F3 when scientists first spotted it in March this year using the NEOWISE space telescope, will be flying past Earth and be visible in the skies during July. It was only visible using a large telescope when it was discovered, but it’s currently bright enough for earthlings to see without any equipment. Binoculars or a camera might help you get a good look at its impressive tail, though.
‘It was very bright,’ Ray Brooks from the Arizona Sky Village, one of the best place to stargaze in North America, told Space.com after a recent sighting. ‘If the comet were in dark skies at a decent elevation, it would be a spectacular naked-eye object.’
There are plenty of opportunities to spot it in the next few weeks: right now, the comet is visible around dawn, but by mid-July you’ll be able to catch it at dusk (and it will come closest to Earth on July 23). But it seems this month is your only chance. According to EarthSky, it ‘might be visible again from Earth, but not until around the year 8,786!’
Find out how you can spot it wherever you are in the world here. Happy hunting!
