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If you haven’t seen Comet NEOWISE yet, time is running out.
Although the comet will be closer to Earth tonight (Thursday night), it is actually already weaker than last week because it has been away from the sun since the beginning of the month.
It is still visible to the naked eye, but only from dark skies, away from city lights. And you should wait until well after sunset when the skies are really dark (probably between 10 and 10:30 pm), as the faint comet will not be visible in the evening twilight. Binoculars will give you a much better view!
This short video shows you where to look:
Comets are heavenly highlights to me because they are immaculate, large chunks of dust, ice, and gases left over from the formation of our solar system!
We don’t see kites too often, so when we get the chance, it’s pretty special.
As comets approach the sun, some of the ice and gases on the comet sublimate. So, as the comet passes through space, dust and gas form a ball around the nucleus (called a coma), and the tail we see (actually, most comets have two tails: a dust tail and a gas tail, which is the most difficult to see).
And here is something special for you. Ever wonder what a comet looks like up close and personal? Well, there is a spaceship for that. Her name is Rosetta, and she flew to Comet 67P, orbited it, and then deployed a lander, called Philae, to the surface. Here are a couple of photos of Comet 67P: one of Rosetta in orbit and one of Philae on the surface.
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