HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – Comet NEOWISE is now only visible in the evenings. You can also see two of the best planets to see in summer, Jupiter and Saturn. We also have passes for the International Space Station.
The skies may be dark enough after 9:30 p.m., but the best kite watching will be around 10 p.m. to midnight Friday through Sunday.
The video above is a time lapse taken by Mike Mallow of Comet NEOWISE above the Valley of Germany this week.
If you want an even better view, try to stay away from light pollution. If you are southeast of one of our cities, you may have some display issues or it just won’t be as bright as if you were in a darker area. Don’t forget to visit the photo gallery at the bottom to see photos of the comet in our area. If you have a great photo, there is a link at the end where you can upload it.
COMET NEOWISE: visible after sunset looking northwest.
- Sunset: around 8:30 pm
- It will not be visible until at least 9:30/9:45 pm once the sky darkens a bit. After 10 pm, the display will improve.
- Comet NEOWISE will soar higher in the sky each night to the west. Look just north of where the sun goes down, but still further down the horizon.
- You may need binoculars to detect it. As the sky darkens and you can pick the Big Dipper, Comet NEOWISE will be right below that.
- It will be visible until around midnight now
FRIDAY- INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION STEP 1:
- 9:13 pm Visible for 6 minutes – Start looking west-southwest. It moves high across the sky, more or less to the northeast
FRIDAY- INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: STEP 2: (This will be much lower on the horizon and can be difficult to see)
- 10:55 pm Visible for 1 minute: Start looking north, but it will stay very low, closer to the horizon as you travel northeast, it won’t be visible for long.
SATURDAY- INTERNATIONAL PASSAGE OF SPACE STATIONS:
- 10:06 pm visible for 2 minutes – This will not be a great pass. It begins to look north as it moves northeast, just above the horizon.
SUNDAY- INTERNATIONAL PASSAGE OF SPACE STATIONS:
- 9:18 pm visible for 2 minutes – This will not be a great pass. It begins to look northwest as it moves northeast, just above the horizon.
PLANETS:
Saturn and Jupiter are at their brightest at this time and can be seen every night. Planets become visible as the sky darkens enough after sunset. Look in the south-southeast part of the sky. The planets are rising, so they will get quite high in the sky later in the night. You can also see 4 of Jupiter’s moons. Jupiter has 53 moons, but NASA says scientists believe Jupiter can have up to 79 moons.
We can only see the 4 largest moons, called Galilean moons. Io, Europe, Ganymede and Callisto. On rare dark nights, you can see all 4 moons with the naked eye, but they can be easily seen with a telescope or zoomed in on a camera.
These photos were taken just a few days ago.
We would love to see your Comet NEOWISE photos, you can send them here:
More than anything, just enjoy the view. Happy viewing!
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