Tag: C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)

Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)—II

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The comet is now visible in the evening sky but also remains visible in the morning sky. Evening twilight is bright enough to make it difficult to see the comet without binoculars or long exposures on a camera. That will change quickly as the comet moves higher in the northwestern sky in the coming days and weeks.

Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) is visible in the evening twilight over Flagstaff, Arizona.
Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) is visible in the evening twilight over Flagstaff, Arizona.

Above is an image of the comet in the evening sky. Layers of clouds and moisture threatened to interfere but actually made the photograph more interesting with saturated twilight colors.

This image is a stack of ten images each 4 secs exposure at ISO 1600, ƒ/1.8, and 85mm focal length. The individual images were stacked using Starry Landscape Stacker.

 

A New Comet in the Sky

A recently discovered comet is now shining brightly in the morning sky. Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) was first spotted March 27, 2020, by NASA’s NEOWISE space-borne telescope. The comet passed inside Mercury’s orbit on 03 July 2020 and quickly brightened as it as heated by the intensity of the Sun.

Comet NEOWISE rises above Grand Canyon. Also visible are Venus, Hyades, and Pleiades.
Comet NEOWISE rises above Grand Canyon. Also visible are Venus, Hyades, and Pleiades.

The comet has been rising around the start of Astronomical Twilight when the eastern horizon is just beginning to brighten. Within about 45 minutes to an hour—or shortly after the start of Nautical Twilight—the morning sky has become bright enough to make observation difficult.

The image above was taken as the comet rose above Grand Canyon. Also visible in the image are the planet Venus, the bright star Aldebaran, and the Hyades and Pleiades star clusters.

Comet NEOWISE rises above the eastern horizon on 06 July 2020.
Comet NEOWISE rises above the eastern horizon on 06 July 2020.
Comet NEOWISE on 06 July 2020.
Comet NEOWISE on 06 July 2020.
Comet NEOWISE on 07 July 2020.
Comet NEOWISE on 07 July 2020.

By the third week middle of July the comet will shift from the morning sky into the evening twilight sky. Again, there will be a short window of time in which it is easily observed but viewing the evening is far easier than the morning.