Comet Neowise

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In the quarter of a century since Comet Hale-Bopp dazzled the night sky in the 1990s, there hasn’t been as bright of a comet that is visible to the naked eye of which no binoculars or telescope are required … then Comet Neowise came to us in July 2020! First appearing several days ago on July 14th, Neowise treats us with a sparkling display — albeit fleeting because it will likely disappear from public view in August or extreme late July. After its brief encounter in our part of the Solar System, this comet is projected to reappear in the night sky a long time from now: in the 8000s!

This comet appears to float alongside constellations such as Auriga, Camelopardalis, Lynx, and Ursa Major in the Northern Hemisphere’s western (evening) to eastern (early morning) sky. In a clear night sky, you will notice an abnormally bright and white circle appearing brighter than planets such as Jupiter and Saturn, both of which in July are as close as they can get to Earth. Dark skies — especially those that are free of light pollution — usually results in the visibility of the comet's two tails.

Even at 6 AM when the Sun is starting to come up, Neowise remains visible in the form of a precise white dot. At daybreak, you know it is the comet once it becomes the only dot in the sky! Captured through my window on a 12.1 megapixel digital camera, my photographs below are definitely not the most crystal-clear images of this wonderful cosmic entity, but they might give you an idea of how notable it is compared to stars and planets in the night sky. It is worth mentioning that I usually have a difficult time taking pictures of stars with my camera, so I was amazed that this comet turned out to be quite visible in my photos!