Skip to content

Comet Neowise now a Grand Sight

Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) has blossomed into a fine sight right now in the early evening sky. Dottie and I watched it last night and it was obvious low on the northwest horizon. Here in our dark skies I estimated that the tail was about six degrees long to the unaided eye.

Since the comet is very low in the sky I set up a photo rig on the driveway where I could see down to the horizon. I can't actually image that low from the observatory. This picture was taken at 9:18, about an hour after sunset, so it wasn't totally dark yet. Even though some clouds are in the way, a good amount of its dust tail is visible.

Thirty minutes later the sky was almost totally dark and the dim parts of the comet popped out. Now both the yellowish dust tail and the bluish ion tail really stand out and are very long. Jump over to the Solar System astrophoto page to see this image. Urban light pollution will mask the fainter parts of the comet too. So if possible, go to a darker location to view this wonderful comet. You'll see a whole lot more of it!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *