Comet NEOWISE will get closer to Earth after sunset tonight, passing a safe distance of 64 million miles. In late July, it will fade as it drifts away from the sun and Earth, returning to remote parts of the solar system.
Here are some tips to help you find it in the night sky before it disappears.
What the comet looks like
The NEOWISE Comet is so bright that it can be seen with the naked eye, but that does not mean you will get a perfect view. Looking up from a dark place away from city lights about 90 minutes after sunset, “it looks like a blurry star with a bit of a tail,” according to Space.com. Add a pair of binoculars or a small telescope, and the comet and its tail will be easier to detect.
Where to find the comet
In this YouTube video, Lance Lucero, product manager for telescope maker Celestron, explains how to find the comet in the night sky. Start by downloading a stargazing app, like Celestron’s free SkyPortal app, to your phone.
You’ll see a list of comets, from brightest to weakest, in real time. You will also see the celestial coordinates you need to know which direction to look and where NEOWISE will appear above the horizon, a given distance in degrees. Lucero shows you an easy way to make a rough measurement of where the comet should be, using an outstretched arm and fingers, when you are at an observation point.
The speed and path of the comet.
The NEOWISE kite is made of equal parts dust and water. NASA scientists estimate the liquid part as the equivalent of “13 million Olympic pools of water.” It moves around 40 miles per second, or 144,000 mph.
It is considered the most popular comet since the Hale-Bopp comet appeared in 1997, and it will not return in about 7,000 years. And there is no way it can collide with Earth because it is on a different orbital path, according to NASA.
The comet is named C / 2020 F3 and added NEOWISE after the acronym for the NASA telescope (the Near-field Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) that discovered it in March.
