Skywatchers are treated to a naked-eye comet as NEOWISE emerges into the the dawn sky.

Bifurcated tail
Debra Ceravolo captured this stunning portrait of Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) at 4 a.m. on July 8, 2020. She used a 300mm astrograph with a 2700mm focal length to make 160, 1-second stacked exposures. The camera was a SBIG STFSC8050 one shot color CCD cooled to –20° C. The resulting image is very similar to the view in a modest telescope.

Whatever you do, see this comet. I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I pointed a pair of 10×50 binoculars at NEOWISE on July 7th at dawn. OMG. What a sumptuous view! The comet's head, a bright, yellow pea, sprouted a 3° pale orange tail that arched upwards in a most elegant way. With the naked eye, I saw a delicate streak of light about 1.5° long with a tiny, star-like coma. The image of a faint meteor jumped to mind.

Comet NEOWISE
A gorgeous pictorial view of the comet on July 7, 2020, was made with a 130mm focal length lens.
Fred Espenak

Far to the right of NEOWISE, Venus and Aldebaran glimmered in Taurus. Comparing the comet to Aldebaran (magnitude +0.9), I estimated its brightness at magnitude 1.4, by far the brightest comet to grace our skies since PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) in March 2013. And what timing. Just what we needed for the COVID-19 blues!

Comet in pink garb
Sometimes clouds can add a special beauty to celestial scenes. As a weather front moves into Minnesota at dawn on July 8th, Comet NEOWISE garbs itself in pink clouds.
Bob King

NEOWISE survived its July 3rd perihelion in grand form, glowing around magnitude 0, bright enough for some amateurs to spot it the very same day. It has since faded to magnitude 1.5–2 but its beauty is undiminished. In fact, the comet has become more extraordinary over the past few nights because it's slowly climbing higher into a darker sky at the same time that the Moon is waning from full to third quarter. On July 8th the tail length had doubled to 6° (my estimate), and the comet appeared more obvious to the naked eye than the morning prior.

My older daughter and I share the comet together at dawn on July 11.
Bob King

I've heard from observers who've observed NEOWISE everywhere from the countryside to Los Angeles. The news is good. Check out this report from Richard K. Mitchell:

"Here in Albuquerque, the comet was a beautiful sight this morning (July 7th). I could see it fairly easy with the naked eye but not an obvious sight, but very impressive sight in 10×50 binoculars. So I would encourage anyone in the “burbs” or a smaller city to give it a try."



Comet NEOWISE reflects off a lake near Duluth, Minn. at dusk on July 11. Comets and water naturally go together as they're thought responsible in part for delivering water to the early Earth. Details: 70mm lens, f/2.8, ISO 2000, 20-second time exposure.
Bob King

Or this from Jim Twellman on July 8th: "Observed once again from the I-64 overpass at Lake St Louis (an outlying suburb of St. Louis, MO. ) The comet was easily visible in 10 × 50s but was spectacular in the 15×70s.  Estimate 2.0 magnitude."

The comet tangles with bright noctilucent clouds over Sokol’niki Park, located not far from the center of Moscow, at 1:30 a.m. local time July 10th. "I’m really excited about the comet, said Alexander Vasenin. "I was a teenager last time I saw a comet just with my eyes alone."
Alexander Vasenin

I don't want to give the impression that NEOWISE is super-easy to see — you still need know where to look — but once seen you'll return to it with ease. Thank goodness for Capella. Located in the comet's vicinity, this bright star points the way for novice and amateur observers alike.

Daily positions for Comet NEOWISE are shown for 4 a.m. local time July 10–15. The comet wraps up its morning appearance from many locations by mid-month then transitions to an evening object as it zips from Lynx into Ursa Major (see below). Click on the image for a large chart.
Sky & Telescope
Comet NEOWISE
You'll spot Comet NEOWISE in late evening twilight as it tickles the paws of Ursa Major later this month. Daily positions for Comet NEOWISE are shown for one hour after sunset July 15–23.
Sky & Telescope

Although NEOWISE sits quite low and appears faint at the start of dawn, it quickly brightens as it gains altitude, offsetting (at least for a time) the intensifying twilight. The best time slot to see the object through July 11–12 is from 2 hours to 1 hour before sunrise. Click here to find when the Sun rises for your location. With 10×50 binoculars I've been able to follow the comet up to within 40 minutes of sunup.

Tail sketch
The comet's bifurcated tail stands out clearly in this sketch I made with Photoshop from observations using a 10-inch reflector at low magnification at 3:50 a.m. CDT on July 7th. The false nucleus glowed brilliant yellow, the tail a delicate shade of orange.
Bob King

Through a telescope the colors are even more intense, but the most remarkable sight is the comet's bifurcated tail — split in two by a dark, U-shaped channel. This feature is also visible in binoculars and photographs, but far more dramatic in a scope. I use a portable 10-inch f/4.5 Dobsonian at low magnification (48×). Bifurcated tails appear in comets that are actively producing massive quantities of dust either after a close passage to the Sun or during a major outburst.

Stunning comet
A faint, tendrily ion tail appears just above NEOWISE's prominent dust tail on July 7, 2020.
Michael Jaeger

NEOWISE has a prominent dust tail, formed when dust-rich ice vaporizes in the Sun's heat. Micron-size dust particles scatter sunlight and glow faintly yellow. An enormous amount of dust must concentrate near the false nucleus because its yellow color is unmistakable. The comet is also developing a fainter, blue-hued ion tail from fluorescing carbon monoxide. Few observers have noted the ion tail visually yet, but you can't miss it in Michael Jaeger's photo.

Comet NEOWISE's complex and spectacular tail is becoming more evident as it climbs higher at dawn and the Moon's phase wanes. Details: Wupatki National Monument, Arizona
3:52-3:57 AM MST with a Canon EOS 6D Mark II and 300mm focal length lens at f/5.6. ISO 800, 12 stacked 15 second exposures.
Jeremy Perez

Dawn comet viewing will be best through about July 18th, with the evening apparition starting about July 12th and continuing the remainder of the summer. Between July 12–18 you can observe it at both dusk and dawn.

Comet over Thunder Bay
This photo, taken July 8, 2020, from Thunder Bay, Ontario, perfectly captures the comet's naked-eye appearance. Details: 80mm focal length at f/4, ISO 400 and 2-second exposure.
Dave Gallant

So set your alarm and plan to be out about 2 hours before sunrise (for now). Find a location with a good view of the northeastern sky, and don't forget to bring binoculars and a camera. Most mobile phone photos will look grainy, but a basic DSLR on a tripod at ISO 800 with a 2-second exposure will net you an image you'd be happy to share on social media.

Synchronic bands stripe Comet NEOWISE's broad dust tail in this image from July 10th. One model posits their formation to individual fragments or chunks shed by the comet that crumble into fine dust in sequential fashion. The comet's ion tail is the narrow streak above the dust tail. Recent data from NASA's NEOWISE spacecraft indicate the comet has a larger than usual nucleus with a diameter around 5 kilometers. This may explain the incredible amount of dust activity we're seeing.
Michael Jaeger

I hope good weather comes your way so you can see Comet NEOWISE while it's still bright. Nothing would make me happier. By the time I wrapped up my July 7th observation I felt like I was floating on air with light beams shooting from my fingertips. As the comet vaporizes to create one of the most beautiful sky sights in years, you may just find that it will melt your heart, too.

While the dust tail is bright and obvious with the naked eye, the comet's blue ion tail is more subtle. It extends straight up to the left of the dust tail on July 11th. Details: 200mm lens at f/2.8, 13-second exposure at ISO 400 on a tracking mount.
Bob King
If you have a telescope and a cell phone try taking a picture of the comet in the brightening dawn sky. I took this photo through a 10-inch scope at 56× with a basic cellphone on July 10.
Bob King

Update July 11: Despite fading to around magnitude 2, Comet NEOWISE is becoming easier to see with an ever-lengthening tail. I traced it to 5° with the naked eye and 9° with binoculars on July 11. The nucleus has faded somewhat but still glows intensely yellow due to a combination of dust and sodium emission. Also, the comet is entering the evening sky just now particularly for viewers in the northern U.S., Canada and northern Europe.

On July 11 Chris Schur used an objective prism on his 150mm lens to photograph the comet's spectrum. The bright yellow lines are from sodium emission while the blue and green highlights are the Swan Bands of carbon and cyanogen. Chris Schur
Since Comet NEOWISE began it evening apparition, astrophotographers could begin taking deeper images untainted by morning moonlight. Michael Jaeger recorded incredible detail in both tails on July 12 from a mountain location. The narrow ion tail measures at least 16° long! Michael Jaeger

Comments


Image of Zubenelgenubi 61

Zubenelgenubi 61

July 9, 2020 at 9:28 pm

Have seen NEOWISE in binocs a couple of times and have got some nice pictures, but it is so hazy near St. Louis that NEOWISE has been a frustrating experience for me. On one morning, Capella was the only naked eye star close to the comet. This morning, Menkalinan could just be seen, but being lower, the comet was not seen naked eye. Have to hope for a cold front to clear things out.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 10, 2020 at 12:59 am

Hi Zuben,
Yes, that's the problem with summer observing sometimes — the haze. I hope your persistence pays off.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Anthony Barreiro

Anthony Barreiro

July 10, 2020 at 4:46 pm

About an hour before sunrise this morning, July 10, the comet was beautiful in 10x42 image-stabilized binoculars, with a bright nucleus and a prominent creamy-colored dust tail about 2 degrees long pointing straight up. At times I thought I saw a hint of bifurcation in the tail. Once I had found the comet with binoculars it was easily visible to the naked eye.
It's a treat to see a comet here in light-polluted San Francisco.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 10, 2020 at 8:04 pm

Wonderful to hear you can see from such a large city! Thanks for writing in, Anthony.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Anthony Barreiro

Anthony Barreiro

July 11, 2020 at 4:40 pm

Thanks Bob! Encouraged by my success seeing the comet from home during dawn yesterday morning, I got up at 3:30 am PDT this morning and walked up Bernal Hill for an open northeastern horizon. A few clouds, but none around the comet, and the sky was very transparent. Around 4:15, about 10 minutes after astronomical dawn, the comet was visible to the naked eye, and gorgeous through binoculars. Against the darker sky the tail was longer, slightly feathery, and it curved slightly to the east before fading out imperceptibly. I'm sure with more aperture I would have seen more tail. I was able to see the head of the comet through binoculars until 5:30, about half an hour before sunrise. There were a few other people on the hill also watching the comet. Nice to have some astronomical company for such a beautiful sight.
Thanks for all the info, charts, and encouragement!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 11, 2020 at 4:51 pm

Anthony,
You're welcome! I took my daughter out this morning (July 11) to see the comet. Lots of mosquitos! I took a photo of us looking at the comet and put it in the article. Like you we also had company — a guy riding his bike around in search of clear spot to see the comet. Glad it's so clear for you. It's only getting better in my opinion. Very easy to see from here with a 5° naked-eye tail which expanded to 9° in 10 x 50s.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Anthony Barreiro

Anthony Barreiro

July 11, 2020 at 7:38 pm

That is a sweet picture of you and your daughter.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Jim-Gasser

Jim-Gasser

July 10, 2020 at 10:44 pm

Tried 4:00 am, with comet altitude 2.5 deg. The haze was a killer. But by 4:30 a nice view in 20x80 binos. 5:00 is still prime time. No confident naked eye sighing due to humidity and haze. In my 8” SCT a nice view of round bright head, bifurcation, and yellow-cream color tail. I have been asked by friends why the media isn’t on it harder if it’s spectacular. I always try to manage expectations and explain haze, low altitude, light and air pollution. But for city folks and moderate skies, this a fantastic binocular object.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Jim-Gasser

Jim-Gasser

July 11, 2020 at 5:53 am

What a difference after the cold front cleared the air! Nice and clear except a small cloud bank RIGHT in the NE. I was worried. But then I notice the comet TAIL pointing out from behind the cloud. Wonderful! After the cloud passed I could EASILY see the head and tail stretching about 4 deg about 65-55 minutes before sunrise. Total brightness seemed on par with beta Aur. 15x70 binos show tail extension nicely. 20x80s the bifurcation.

Loving this event. Those who say knowing the science removes the mystery are wrong- it adds to it.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Ernie Ostuno

Ernie Ostuno

July 11, 2020 at 6:32 am

Saw it this morning from 4:30 to 5:35 AM EDT. I was surprised by how easy the tail was to see with the naked eye even in the morning twilight. The nucleus was star-like in binoculars and telescope and was visible well into twilight, past 5:30 AM local time. Reminded me of a bigger, brighter version of Comet ISON that I saw in November 2013. Not as bright as Comet West or Hale-Bopp, but one of the brightest comets I've seen in the past 45 years.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Jim-Gasser

Jim-Gasser

July 11, 2020 at 11:00 am

Agreed w all you said. Where are you located?

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Ernie Ostuno

Ernie Ostuno

July 11, 2020 at 12:03 pm

Near Grand Rapids, Michigan. You already know this, but for those who have not seen it...Light pollution is not an issue with this comet. Even the last quarter moon and morning twilight can't kill it! This is one that you could show the non-amateur astronomers and impress most of them with.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 11, 2020 at 12:22 pm

Ernie,
I think it's the brightest, most obvious naked-eye comet since McNaught in 2007 (PanSTARRS L4 was also naked eye but nothing as impressive as this.)

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of dogfuzion

dogfuzion

July 11, 2020 at 12:05 pm

Wow it really was well worth getting up at 4 AM to see this comet. We were driving around looking for a good eastern view (our house faces southwest) and WHAM it was right there, in your face. No binoculars needed. Bright nucleus and long tail pointing straight up. OK full disclosure, we live at 9000 feet altitude so seeing the comet may have been easier up here. But there were still the lights of Denver to the east and the comet was bright enough to see. Wish I could have taken a picture. I am considering getting up again Sunday AM. Oh yeah, the Venus Aldebaran conjunction, the moon and Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, a superb morning of sights!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 11, 2020 at 12:21 pm

Hey Dog,
Thanks for writing. Your impression matches mine. And yes, don't forget the camera next time. A good starting exposure is f/2.8, ISO 800 and 2-3 seconds.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of BlueRidgeStars

BlueRidgeStars

July 11, 2020 at 12:48 pm

Got our first look at NEOWISE this morning from the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Roanoke, Va. We had some clouds to the east and had to mill around for 30 minutes or so, but suddenly it was in full view. Spotted it first with the naked eye — a ghostly streak below Beta AUR, but what a treat in binoculars! We had a lot of wind, so I will have to get a photo later.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 11, 2020 at 12:55 pm

Hi BlueRidge,

A ghostly streak — exactly 🙂

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of robin_astro

robin_astro

July 11, 2020 at 1:51 pm

The golden colour of this comet is particularly enhanced in this case by intense emission from excited sodium atoms in the dust coma and tail. The Sodium D doublet lines show very strongly in my high resolution spectrum covering about 150 Angstroms with the Na D lines on the right hand end and other faint lines from ionised molecules
https://britastro.org/sites/default/files/F3_raw_LHIRES1200_20200710.png
You can also see the Doppler shift due to the comet's motion relative to us, between the sodium in the comet and the lines from local sodium lamp light pollution

Robin

Robijn

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 11, 2020 at 3:02 pm

Hi Robin,
Thank you for that information. I didn't know how much sodium emission was involved so I reserved writing about it, but your data and also a spectrum sent to me by Chris Schur today indicate strong sodium emission. Have you seen any traces of a sodium tail?

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of robin_astro

robin_astro

July 12, 2020 at 9:28 pm

Hi Bob,

If the weather cooperates I plan to try taking a spectrum across the tails which might pick up any separate sodium tail. An image taken with a Sodium D pass filter would be interesting. (Not a common filter for amateurs I would guess, certainly compared with the inverse, blocking sodium light pollution )

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Anthony Barreiro

Anthony Barreiro

July 11, 2020 at 4:50 pm

There are two brighter wider lines, and two fainter skinnier (but longer) lines. Which pair are from the comet and which from the streetlights? Also, from left to right, does this spectrum go from longer wavelengths to shorter, or from shorter to longer? Thanks for helping me understand what I'm seeing.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Anthony Barreiro

Anthony Barreiro

July 12, 2020 at 4:59 pm

Comparing Robin's black and white spectrogram with Chris Schur's color spectrogram, I'm guessing that in Robin's image blue is on the left and red on the right, and that the fat bright spikes are from the comet and the fainter narrower bands are from the street lights. That would make the comet's spectrum blue-shifted, moving toward Earth. I'll keep checking back, hoping to find out if these inferences are correct, completely backwards, or wrong in some more interesting way.

Thanks for including the color spectrum, it's helpful.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of robin_astro

robin_astro

July 12, 2020 at 9:42 pm

Yes spot on ! My spectrum is conventionally orientated with the shorter wavelengths on the left. In Chis' prism spectrum the dispersion is reversed compared with my diffraction grating spectrum. The spectrum covers just a small ~150 Angstrom section of the visible spectrum in the yellow at high (~0.4 Angstrom) resolution. The lines which extend the full height of the image are the two sodium D sky lines 6 Angstrom apart (From both natural emission in the atmosphere and street lights). The curvature is due to the spectrograph optics. The coma is deliberately over exposed in this image to bring out the spectrum of the tail. The blue shift of the sodium lines is about 1.2 Angstrom or 60km/s, the component of the comet's velocity towards us along our line of sight. I still need to process the spectrum fully and identify the other weaker emission lines.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Anthony Barreiro

Anthony Barreiro

July 13, 2020 at 2:50 pm

Thanks Robin both for the info and for sharing the spectrum here. It's great that you're doing real science!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Dave Mitsky

Dave Mitsky

July 11, 2020 at 3:58 pm

My wife and I traveled to the Naylor Observatory again early on Thursday morning, July 9th. We arrived a bit earlier than we had on Monday morning. The transparency was mediocre at best. On top of that, the high dew point and the fact that it had rained yesterday made me think that fog was possible, which proved to be the case, even though I hadn't heard of fog being mentioned in any of the forecasts that I saw.

At any rate, my wife swept up Comet NEOWISE F3 first again with her 10x50s. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to bring my 15x70s but I could see the barest hint of the comet with my 12x50s. As the comet began to climb into the east-northeastern sky, it became somewhat easier to detect. Moonlight was more of a problem than it had been on Monday morning when the Moon was lower in the sky and farther to the west.

I trained my 80mm f/5 Orion ShortTube 80 refractor on the comet and used a variety of eyepieces to observe it: a 24mm Explore Scientific 68 degree (17x), a 19mm Tele Vue Panoptic (21x), a 13mm Celestron Plossl (31x), and a 7mm Tele Vue Nagler Type 6 (57x). The 7mm Nagler T6 provided the most pleasing view once again.

The comet's bright pseudonucleus was rather easy to discern. I looked carefully for a sign of bifurcation of the dust tail but the conditions were poor and I was uncertain whether I saw it. It was too hazy to try to get an accurate estimate of the length of the tail.

I was able to take a few mediocre hand-held afocal photos of Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) with my iPhone.

Eventually ground fog began to roll in. Soon the farm field at the eastern border of the observatory was completely covered with fog.

After putting my gear back into my vehicle, I opened up the French Dome, which houses a 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain, and observed a magenta-filtered Mars in a brightening sky at 249 and 324x before calling it a morning.

A finder chart for July 9th can be seen at https://www.spaceweather.com/images2020/09jul20/skymap_09jul20.png

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Rod

Rod

July 12, 2020 at 6:31 am

Rod in MD this morning enjoyed very clear skies and cool temperatures. [Observed 0415 EDT - 0515 EDT, 0815 UT - 0915 UT. Sunrise near 0552 EDT/0952 UT. Moon waning gibbous. Last Quarter Moon today at 2329 UT/1929 EDT. Moon and Mars very lovely this morning along with Venus, Aldebaran in Taurus. Bob King report at S&T said "The comet's bifurcated tail stands out clearly in this sketch I made with Photoshop from observations using a 10-inch reflector at low magnification at 3:50 a.m. CDT on July 7th. The false nucleus glowed brilliant yellow, the tail a delicate shade of orange. Bob King” I could see this too using my 90-mm refractor with Orion Sirius 25-mm plossl at 40x. Easy to see the bright core of the comet and bifurcated tail. The true FOV about 1.3-degrees across, the tail extended across the entire FOV. At 0420 EDT, I could easily see NEOWISE with unaided eyes, nice tail. Using the Telrad made positioning the comet in the eyepiece FOV quick, especially a naked eye comet with tail. Other stars in Auriga visible in the telescope eyepiece view along with the comet. I enjoyed views of brilliant crescent shape Venus with Aldebaran and some other Hyades stars visible in the eyepiece at 40x. The color contrast of Venus and Aldebaran very good. Venus brilliant white crescent shape near 36” angular size compared to the red giant Aldebaran color orange-red, like Mars. The telescope views this morning of NEOWISE, Venus and Aldebaran, would make some great photos. Comet NEOWISE was about as bright (core/nucleus) with tail as the star Elnath and Menkalinan, visual estimate so apparent magnitude +1.6 at theskylive.com looks good, JPL mv +4.0 shown, https://theskylive.com/c2020f3-info. Elnath mv +1.62, Menkalinan mv +1.87. Great views of the comet this morning 0415 EDT until 0515 EDT as well as Venus with Aldebaran in Taurus. I shined my red light across the pasture into the woods. Some deer were standing there looking at me from a distance, their eyes lit up by my red flashlight.]

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of New Jersey Eclipse Fan

New Jersey Eclipse Fan

July 12, 2020 at 12:47 pm

That's quite the comprehensive report, so thanks! I'm looking forward to NEOWISE's appearance in the evening sky later this week. It'll be hit-or-miss because, according to my Weather Channel App, there's only one full sun symbol in the nine-day forecast for my area, that being this coming Tuesday, when spotting the comet will be difficult. I'm still keepin' my fingers crossed!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of ellenpa2000

ellenpa2000

July 13, 2020 at 9:24 am

Bob your image over the lake is stunning. However even from a city centre it's visible.
Having a photo over the rooftops of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 13, 2020 at 11:39 am

Thanks, Ellen! I've been from people in even some of the larger cities that the comet is easily visible. I didn't see your photo though — do you have a link?

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Jim White

Jim White

July 13, 2020 at 9:39 am

My wife and I were able to get a nice view from our rural Washington area on the morning of July 11. How great to finally get another naked-eye comet!
Bob, your great picture of you and your daughter reminds me of viewing Comet Halley in 1986. I took my then 6-year old daughter out to view it. I then documented our viewing in her baby book - my hope is that in her lifetime she will be able to join a rare club, people who have seen it twice in their lifetime.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 13, 2020 at 11:43 am

Hi Jim,
Great idea to do that with your daughter. Our kids weren't born yet when Halley appeared in 1986, but I told my older daughter I'd give her my special Halley notebook containing all my observations and sketches of the comet as a keepsake for when she sees it in 2061. I unfortunately won't be around then unless I live to be over 100. I suspect that won't happen because I'm definitely not getting all the sleep I need.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Adrian Mann

Adrian Mann

July 13, 2020 at 10:19 am

I finally saw it last night, and what a sight! I haven't seen a comet this good since... I can't remember. And it's a fantastic photographic target too. We have very dark and clear skies out here in rural Hungary, about as far away from civilisation as you can get, so that really helped make it an easy naked eye object, but truly spectacular with 10x50s. I took some photos, including one that just happened to include the ISS passing by!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 13, 2020 at 11:44 am

Excellent, Adrian! I agree — the view in 10x50s is spectacular.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of OwlEye

OwlEye

July 13, 2020 at 4:59 pm

Hi Bob,

Now NEOWISE dazzles at dusk. I was out before the clouds came in at 11pm last night, and had a great time with N. In spite of the pollution, I saw it with averted vision and moving finger-at-arms-length assisted eye-panning (as you know, faint, extended objects are easier to see if they are in motion) at ~ 9:48pm. Not before or after. The first thing I noticed in the 7 x 50 binocular was how bright and stellar the false-nucleus appeared. Has it gotten brighter in the last 48 hours?

I'll be going out into much darker sky tonight if the weather holds. Carpe cometa!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 14, 2020 at 10:02 am

Doug,
I'm with you on that — carpe cometa! Not sure if the nucleus has brightened in the last day but it was not brighter on July 11, the last time I looked with binoculars and telescope. But yes, it does appear quite stellar through binoculars.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Scott2112

Scott2112

July 13, 2020 at 11:21 pm

I went out for a look here in Southern Ontario tonight after dusk. In moderately light polluted skies Neowise was spectacular in my 10x50 binoculars. I dragged my son off his gaming stream for a look and he could see it quite easily naked eye (and he had to admit it was worth it). Going to try it in my 6 inch reflector on the next clear night and hopefully snap a pic or two. Definitely the best show since Hale-Bopp. Thanks for the updates Bob!!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 14, 2020 at 9:59 am

Hi Scott,
Thank you! Very happy you found it. I agree — a fantastic object in binoculars.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of New Jersey Eclipse Fan

New Jersey Eclipse Fan

July 14, 2020 at 10:12 pm

Success! Mrs. NJEF & I just returned from a short drive to a nearby area with a flat view of the NW horizon. We took only a couple pairs of binoculars with us, which was a good thing, but arrived a bit TOO early, as initial scanning yielded nothing. But the Missus spotted it first once the Big Dipper stars began to appear and we stayed until it was time to go home. It was still tough to see with the naked eye, but we all know that should improve as the month of July progresses. My son is going with me tomorrow, so I can't wait for Round 2 (for me)!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 15, 2020 at 2:57 am

Dear New Jersey Eclipse Fan,
Very glad you saw it. No worries. It will improve rapidly as it climbs higher in the next few nights.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of New Jersey Eclipse Fan

New Jersey Eclipse Fan

July 15, 2020 at 10:36 pm

Thanks! Besides the "rapid climb," night #2 did prove easier to spot NEOWISE because 1) I went out a bit later and 2) I knew better where to look. Plus I was able to just walk to my neighbor's back yard to give me more NW horizon to view than my own, which has trees in the way. Looking forward to night #3! BTW if you re-arrange the comet's letters, it spells "I SEE NOW!"

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of New Jersey Eclipse Fan

New Jersey Eclipse Fan

July 17, 2020 at 3:40 pm

Alas, night #3 never transpired due to overcast conditions in Central Jersey. Perhaps tonight (Friday) will be better. Details in the new S&T email, whose arrival in our respective mailboxes will hopefully be not long from now (3:40EDT)!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of New Jersey Eclipse Fan

New Jersey Eclipse Fan

July 17, 2020 at 3:41 pm

That's 3:40pm.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of mary beth

mary beth

July 18, 2020 at 1:32 am

Good going! Glad you and your family were able to see it! Nice you don’t have to drive either. Hilarious about the letters!!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Tom-Johnson

Tom-Johnson

July 15, 2020 at 8:03 am

Here in Northern Colorado I've been able to see the comet three out of the last four mornings, due to clouds, and look forward to evening observations with a break in the evening thunderstorms. Sunday was my first sighting, with 10 x 50 binoculars, and it was strikingly easy to find and clear. I think it is the best look I've had at a comet since Hale-Bopp in 1997. This morning it was surprisingly difficult to find and dimmer than yesterday, but I'm wondering if that was a thin cloud layer. We'll see tomorrow morning, and this evening? As clear skies permit.

In hot July, there's nothing like a cool morning and a comet to observe!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 15, 2020 at 10:45 am

Hi Tom,
Thanks for writing. I agree — best thing since Hale-Bopp.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Dale Johnson

Dale Johnson

July 15, 2020 at 3:43 pm

This morning 07/15/2020 at Approx. 4:40 am ( Somerset County N.J.) I saw 2 Planets from my property to the left of the Moon ( I think Mercury and Mars) and 2 planets to the right of the Moon ( Saturn and Jupiter). While walking back to my House I looked up toward the Northwest and saw the biggest white light object (Venus Color and size) traveling southeast It was moving very quickly and watch it for 15-20 seconds as it passed straight over my property, as high as a lower flight comet of satelite . It went to the right side of the Moon and the 2 planets. It had no Tail mist behind it. was this Neowise? the Comet, Satelite , Rocket UFO Ect. Going out tonite same time to hopefully see and video.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 15, 2020 at 5:25 pm

Hi Dale,
To the left of the moon this morning you saw the bright planet Venus and a fainter (but somewhat bright) star called Aldebaran. Well to the right of the moon was Mars and much farther to the west — low in the southwestern sky — were Jupiter and Saturn. The brilliant moving object was an excellent and bright pass of the International Space Station.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of BruceZ

BruceZ

July 15, 2020 at 3:50 pm

Bob King,
I would like more info about how you took the photo over the water. How did you avoid trailing with such a long exposure? Was it tracked? What camera and lens did you use? What post-processing did you do? Is the reflection in the water real? Thanks.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob King

Bob King

July 15, 2020 at 5:28 pm

Hi Bruce,
Sure thing. I used a 70mm focal length lens and a tracking mount in order to keep the comet and stars from trailing during the 20 second exposure. I shot at f/2.8, ISO 1600 (or ISO 2000 I forget) and yes, that is indeed the comet's reflection. If you look closely you'll see that the reflection is slightly distorted due to a passing breeze. Otherwise it was incredibly still that night. With a 70mm focal length, 20 seconds wasn't long enough to cause noticeable blur of the static foreground.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Alan-Thompson

Alan-Thompson

July 17, 2020 at 1:18 pm

According to your charts for July 14 and July 15, NEOWISE appears in both dawn and dusk skies.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of George Gliba

George Gliba

July 18, 2020 at 3:00 pm

From Screech Owl Hill Observatory, Mathias, WVa:

Comet NEOWISE - A Very Nice Comet...

July 16 UT - 3.0 magn. 4 degree tail
July 18 UT - 2.5 magn. 5 degree tail - (outburst or better altitude?)

Fellow meteor enthusiasts and observers. We have had 2 good nights observing the comet.
It has been low, but now it will become easier the next several nights. This is really a very
nice comet. I have seen 108 comets since 1965; 31 with the naked-eye. So, my qualified
opinion is that this comet is the best one in 18 years (since Ikeya-Zhang in 2002). Awesome
in binoculars. Even visible naked-eye more easily next few nights (slight averted vision helps). Good luck.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

You must be logged in to post a comment.