Comet NEOWISE could give skywatchers a dazzling show this month. Here's what to know.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. "Whatever you do, see this comet."

I don't have an unobstructed view of sunrise at this time of the year. I was out this morning before dawn, but I wasn't thinking of looking for comets. Now I know.

Comets
Comet Neowise Delights at Dawn
By: Bob King July 8, 2020

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



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.



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

{snip}