Tips for seeing the NEOWISE comet, which will disappear soon


Comet NEOWISE is receiving rave reviews from astronomers who have seen it this week. Here are some tips from those astronomers.

Brian Ottum, an amateur astronomer at Ann Arbor, was taking photos of Comet NEOWISE in recent days.

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Comet NEOWISE captured near Ann Arbor, MI, taken by Brian Ottum.

The comet was visible in the early hours of the morning, but NEOWISE will be easier to see at night in the coming days.

Todd Slisher, CEO and Astronomer of the Longway Planetarium in Flint, says: “I would say that this kite for visual appeal surpasses all that I have ever seen except Hale Bopp, Hyukataka and Comet West. I would put it above the Halley’s Comet in the 80s. ”

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NEOWISE kite over South Lyon, MI on Tuesday July 14, 2020. Photo courtesy of Todd Slisher, Longway Planetarium.

So even experts are upset about this comet.

This is how they suggest we look at NEOWISE. Everyone says we will need binoculars to find it. While it is possible to see the comet with the naked eye, Brian Ottum says it will be very difficult to find without binoculars.

Mike Murray, Program Director at Delta College Planetarium, informs us that the comet will appear in the sky a little north of northwest. If you like it and know the compass directions, Murray estimates that NEOWISE appears in the sky at about 325 degrees.

NEOWISE appears in the sky a little later each night for the next week. Murray says this is good to see because the sky is darker when the comet is first shown in the sky. The comet then gradually sits lower in the sky over the course of about half an hour before disappearing below the horizon.

Murray says to start looking for the comet about an hour after sunset. Sunset is around 9:15 pm now in Michigan, so look for the comet around 10:15.

Dave DeBruyn, conservative emeritus of the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, Grand Rapids Public Museum, believes the comet will be easier to see this weekend. Notice that we have the usual uncertainty of how long the comet will be visible. So go clear nights on Thursday, Friday, and this weekend to have the assured ability to see the comet.

Some more things that may surprise you about this kite. Mike Murray says the comet formed when the solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago. When you are looking at the comet, you are literally looking at the beginning of our time. The comet is called NEOWISE because that is the telescope from outer space that discovered it.

NEOWISE has two visible tails. The white tail that we normally think of comets is made of dust and ice. There is also a blue tail in NEOWISE. The blue tail is an ion tail made of particles charged by the sun.

We need clear skies to see the comet. Fortunately we should have clear skies on Thursday night and Friday night at least. There may be clear skies on Saturday night and Sunday night, but it is more iffy due to possible thunderstorms.

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