Tuesday July 14: Visible from about 10.15pm-10.30pm to the north-west, and becoming clearer as the night goes on, NEOWISE is now arriving in the constellation of Lynx, which is a line of stars that look a bit like a bird’s wings, flying towards you. You could also view it about 80 minutes before sunrise on Monday morning - it will be about ‘one fist up’ from the north-eastern horizon. It is moving out of the constellation of Auriga now and towards Lynx. Comet NEOWISE will appear to follow it across the sky, from north-west to north-east. Look for the bright star Capella in a northerly direction to help you locate it. Sunday July 12: NEOWISE could become visible from about 10.15pm-10.30pm, but will become clearer as the night goes on. It is expected to be visible throughout the month now. Through the month: As the sun sets slightly earlier through the month, so NEOWISE could become visible a few minutes earlier, although darker skies will always yield more spectacular views. Tracking Comet NEOWISE through the month NASA's guide to where to see the comet (38329906) The best views - depending on the weather - could come on July 22-23, when it will make it’s closest pass to Earth - a mere 64 million miles (103 million km) away.Binoculars or a small telescope will make it easier to spot. It can be seen with the naked eye on a clear night.If the skies are clear, it will be best seen at about 2.30am by looking north-east just above the horizon.It will travel from the north-west to north-east through the night.Comet NEOWISE should be visible from about an hour after sunset by looking in a northerly direction.You can see more stunning photographs of it here, along with a guide to photographing it. If you find it with binoculars, try taking the binoculars away, keeping your view in the same direction, to see it with the naked eye.Īnd the view could get better as the month goes on, as it rises higher above the horizon. Once the skies are dark enough, it is visible to the naked eye, and looks spectacular in binoculars or a small telescope. To date it’s been one for early risers - best seen about an hour before dawn by looking low to the horizon in a north-easterly direction.īut the good news for those not keen to rouse themselves as such an hour is that it’s now also visible in the evenings. The lower, broader tail is the comet’s dust tail, while the thinner, upper tail is the comet’s ion tail.Image: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Naval Research Lab/Parker Solar Probe/Guillermo Stenborg (38329929) Processed data from the WISPR instrument on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe shows greater detail in the twin tails of comet NEOWISE, as seen on July 5, 2020. These trains can be observable for several seconds.Look to the skies this month for a once-in-6,800-years opportunity.Ĭomet NEOWISE is exciting astronomers and astrophotographers as it blazes across the skies during July. Lyrids frequently leave glowing dust trails behind them as they streak through the Earth's atmosphere. This leaves behind a trail of shooting stars that are called the Lyrid Meteor Shower.Īccording to NASA, the Lyrids have been observed for 2,700 years and are known for their fast and bright meteors, though not as fast or as plentiful as the famous Perseids. Every year when Earth passes around this debris field in its orbit, the remnants of the comet enter the planet's upper atmosphere and burn up from friction. The Lyrid meteor is a debris field in Earth's orbit left behind by Comet Thatcher when it was on its way to the Sun in its orbit. Astronomers have said that the meteors will be best visible during the morning hours before dawn.Ĭurrently traveling away from the Sun, Comet Thatcher will begin its return trajectory in another 45 years.

However, Moon could reduce the visibility of these shooting stars by 25-50% due to its high brightness.

Comet tonight