MELBOURNE, Florida. Sky watchers are amazed, glimpsing a comet that will not present itself to us for another 7,000 years.
What you need to know
- Comet NEOWISE can be seen before sunrise, after sunset
- Comet is bright enough to see with the naked eye, says professor
Many are getting the experience of a lifetime, like Maria Galvez, Florida Tech’s astronomy and physics teacher.
“Seeing him with his eyes is impressive,” said Galvez.
Over the past few weeks, she, along with countless amateur and professional astronomers in our northern hemisphere, have glimpsed and images of Comet NEOWISE.
Here’s what is really cool: You don’t need a telescope, you just need a pair of binoculars.
“I think that’s the most inspiring thing: seeing it,” said Galvez. “You’re not just looking at a photo.”
“It is one of the few comets that becomes bright enough to see with the naked eye,” said Florida assistant professor of astronomy Saida Caballero.
The three-mile-wide comet is named after NASA’s Near-Earth Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer. The probe discovered the comet on March 27, and is now visible before sunrise and after sunset.
Scientists say it looks like a fuzzy star with a small tail, and as it gets closer to the sun it warms up and spews gases and dust and brightens more.
The opportunity to study the comet’s visit is like going back in time.
“Unlike Earth, where much of the rock has evolved over time, comets still have the pristine material from back then and can give us insights into how our solar system has changed over time,” said Caballero.
With the ongoing pandemic, Caballero regrets not being able to share this experience in person with his students. But she is on the moon, people like María Gálvez are venturing to see the comet.
“Everyone is excited about this,” he said.
Galvez said it is an experience he will use in his future career focusing on optics and instrumentation.
“I want to work for a company that is developing telescopes,” Galvez said.
Your best chance to see NEOWISE is after sunset in the northwest sky. The closest step to Earth will be on July 22, just 64 million miles from Earth, which is about 29 million miles closer than the sun.
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