A comet discovered this 2020 is traveling relatively close to Earth, offering a night show after having passed near the Sun and extended its tail.
Now it’s heading towards Earth’s orbit and its closest approach will be towards the end of July.
“Neowise” passed through Mercury’s orbit a week ago. Its proximity to the Sun made it burn dust and gases on its surface to create an even longer tail of debris.
NASA’s Neowise Infrared Space Telescope discovered the comet in March.
The comet #NEOWISE seen from the International Space Station.
Thank you @_TheSeaning.Via: @AntonioParispic.twitter.com/4Z4sPYIMil
— Webcams de México (@webcamsdemexico) July 9, 2020
Scientists said the comet is a few kilometers in diameter and its nucleus would be covered in carbonaceous material dating from the origin of the solar system, 4.6 billion years ago.
The comet will be visible throughout the northern hemisphere until mid-August, when it will head back to the outer zone of the solar system.
Although it is visible to the naked eye in dark skies with little or no light pollution, binoculars are needed to see the tail, NASA said.
It will be about 7 thousand years before the comet returns“So I wouldn’t suggest waiting next time it happens,” said Joe Masiero, the telescope’s deputy principal investigator, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
#AwakenPlanetary ☀️
☄️ NEOWISE kite on the Hochfeiler mountain in the Alps ????
???? Martin Rietze/SWNS.com pic.twitter.com/jsuRYJblyW– Madrid Planetarium (@PlanetarioMad) July 10, 2020
In addition, he pointed out that it is the comet brightest since the 1990s for fans of astronomy in the northern hemisphere.
Astronauts on the International Space Station could already see it: Bob Behnken of NASA released a spectacular photo of the comet on social media Thursday night showing it near the edge of our planet, with the space station in the foreground and Central Asia in the background.
“Stars, cities, spaceships and a comet!” He tweeted from space.
Night sky, just before dawn from @Space_Station.
Stars, cities, spaceships, and a comet! pic.twitter.com/fCKjrfayC1
— Bob Behnken (@AstroBehnken) July 9, 2020
–
