This photo of the NEOWISE Comet was taken from the International Space Station (ISS). (Image: NASA)
NEOWISE Comet Live Updates: The C/2020 F3 comet aka NEOWISE has caught the attention of the stargazers in India as they have been and will be able to get a glimpse of the celestial event from July 14 onwards. The comet will be visible to the naked eye for 20 minutes every day for 20 days.
On July 14, the comet was visible an hour before the dawn sky. This will continue in mid-July. However, the comet will be visible in the evening later this month before it starts to fade away in August. It will be visible only through binoculars and telescopes before disappearing next month as it enters the outer orbit of our solar system. It will be closest to earth on July 22 as the distance from Earth will be 64 million miles or 103 million kilometres as it crosses the planet’s orbit.
“From July 14, C/2020 F3, a comet discovered on March 27, will be clearly visible in the north-western sky. It will be visible after sunset for around 20 minutes for the next 20 days. People can observe it from naked eyes,” Odisha planetarium’s Deputy Director, Dr. Subhendu Pattnaik told ANI. “In the evenings to follow, the comet will rapidly climb higher in the sky and will be visible for a longer period,” he added. The NEOWISE will be visible in the northwest sky which is 20 degrees from the horizon.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has issued a warning that a huge asteroid “Asteroid 2020 ND” will move past Earth on July 24. There is also information of two asteroids that are expected to whiz past our planet on Sunday. The two asteroids named by NASA are 2016 DY30 and 2020 ME3.
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In the early months of 1066 CE, a brilliant comet was seen circling the earth. It happened to occur almost at the same time as that when Edward the Confessor, the very popular king of England, died, and the Crown passed over to Harold Godwinson. Not being the natural heir of Edward, the accession of Harold failed to get the approval of the Papacy. A few months later, when an artistic depiction of the coronation of Harold was made in the famed 70 metres long Bayeux Tapestry, it interestingly showed the members of the congregation gazing with unease at the comet in the sky, in anticipation of the doom to come.
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NASA has recorded a special podcast, during which its experts take up public queries on the Comet NEOWISE, which will be visible throughout July.
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The Comet C/2020 or 'Neowise' is seen in the sky from the 'Puerto del Viento' mountain pass (1190 metres/3904 feet altitude) at dawn in Ronda, southern Spain today.
NASA experts will discuss and answer public questions about Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE during a broadcast of NASA Science Live and follow up media teleconference. The comet is visible with the naked-eye in the early morning sky and starting this week, after sunset.
The NASA Science Live episode will air live at 12:30 AM IST, July 16 on NASA Television and the agency's website, along with Facebook Live, YouTube, Periscope, LinkedIn, Twitch, and USTREAM.
A high definition video has surfaced which was recorded on July 5 at International Space Station. The video shows Comet Neowise rising above the limb of planet Earth during an orbital sunrise.
The Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE will come the closest to Earth on July 22-23, which is when skywatchers across Northern hemisphere including India will be able to see it with naked eyes or using binoculars after sunset.
It is said that if the comet manages to stay brighter, it will also be visible in the second half of July during evening dusk. The comet will start fading away when it starts entering the outer parts of the solar system in August.
On July 3, the C/2020 F3 comet had come closer to the Sun, even Mercury's orbit. As comets are made out of various types of ices, going that close to the sun resulted in various reactions in it.
According to NASA, the comet is about 5 km wide and its nucleus is covered with sooty dark particles left over from its formation near the birth of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago. The next time this comet will be visible from Earth will be the year 8,786 — which is almost over 6,000 years later.
NEOWISE was visible in India today for 20 minutes before the dawn sky. The comet was visible to the naked eye.