Indeed, the comet NEOWISE can be seen with the naked eye, even in urban areas. The Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium in Montreal recalls that comets that are easily visible to the naked eye are rare.
To see the comet NEOWISE, those interested must look at the horizon in a northeast direction, between 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m.
Landmarks
- A comet is made up of dust and ice.
- Comets formed at the same time as our solar system, 4.6 billion years ago.
- A comet is made up of three parts: the nucleus, the hair and the tail.
- The nucleus and the hair constitute the head of the comet.
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To the naked eye, the celestial body appears as a slightly blurred star, about five degrees above the horizon.
Amateur astronomers with binoculars can admire its tail of yellowish dust which rises almost vertically and curves slightly to the right.
During the next week, the comet NEOWISE will gradually pass into the evening sky, but the Planetarium adds that it will certainly have lost some of its brightness.
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