Seeing comets with the naked eye on Earth is a relatively rare phenomenon. Indeed, only about once a decade do we get a chance to see such a cosmic event.
Currently there’s a such a comet in our sky, called NEOWISE, and visible to most of us in the Northern Hemisphere for the next week or so.
Unfortunately it’s visible just as the sun is rising, making it tricky to view unless timed correctly. Check to some of the photos of NEOWISE taken from the past week below. Via Gizmodo:
To see the comet, go outside early in the morning, about an hour before sunlight appears on the horizon, and face toward the Northeast. Hold your fist out at arm’s length. Align the lower part of your fist with the horizon. The comet will be visible about halfway between the horizon and the top of your fist.
Comet NEOWISE as seen from Hungary on July 3, 2020.
Image: Peter Komka (AP)
Comet NEOWISE as seen from Rome, Italy, on July 7, 2020. The dotted streak is the International Space Station.
Image: Gianluca Masi/Virtual Telescope Project
