Comet Discovered in March is Visible This WeekendPress Release
SAN ANGELO, TX – On July 4th the bright full "Buck Moon" stole the show from fireworks across the northern hemisphere, however there are plenty more celestial sights occurring this month.
From Jupiter and Saturn reaching their peak brightnesses to a double meteor shower, and even the chance to see comet; tail and all.
In late March, the NEOWISE space telescope discovered a comet registered as C/2020 F3, according to Space.com.
The comet, named 'NEOWISE', was so far from the sun shining very faintly at the time it was initially spotted that it was only visible with extremely powerful telescopes.
Unlike the previous ATLAS and SWAN comets from the beginning of the year, Comet NEOWISE rounded the sun on July 3, coming just within 27.3 million miles of our star.
The comet surprisingly survived the high-temperature close encounter after passing through it's closest point to the sun also known as (perihelion).
Astronomers state NEOWISE has now put enough distance between itself and the sun to be spotted by naked-eye observers in clear and even dark predawn skies.
So, when's the best time to see the comet you ask? As of right now, viewers can faintly see it at dawn.
However, according to EarthSky on July 11 the comet will be it's highest during the early passing hours of dawn.
Eventually the comet will get closer to the horizon each day, and sometime during mid July it will be visible in the northwest horizon shortly after sunset.
Although the comet should be visible with the naked-eye, EarthSky and Space.com recommend using binoculars or a telescope for a clearer sight.
If you or someone you know wants to catch a glimpse of Comet NEOWISE, you're going to want to bust out those binoculars as soon as possible.
As with all comets, Comet NEOWISE could potentially break apart, so its recommended you pull yourself out of bed at dawn and get to looking up at the morning sky.
For a detailed look at what to expect when Comet NEOWISE makes it's appearance click here.
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