Comet Neowise

It is not only birds and moths that come out of the blue. Comet Neowise was discovered on March 27, 2020, by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) spacecraft, hence the name. At that point it was heading towards the sun. It made its closest approach to the Sun on 3rd July and is currently powering its way out of our solar system. It won’t return for 6,800 years (assuming it is still intact), so if you want to see it, now is a good time!

Earthsky.org have a nice map to help you find Comet Neowise. I have modified this with my own red arrow, see below. On a clear night, once darkness has fallen (at least 10:45pm in Oxford), simply look north-west and find Ursa Major (The Plough to the English, the Big Dipper to the Americans). Follow a line down diagonally through the rectangle of The Plough and look for the faint streak of the comet’s tail. You can see it with the naked eye, but it is best in binoculars. The numbers on the graphic below refer to the position of the comet on various dates in July 2020:

Above, this is pretty much how Comet Neowise appears in the sky above Headington when viewed from the street.

To add some local interest, I walked around the corner and photographed the comet from underneath the Headington Shark. I like the way the tail resembles the open mouth of some comet-eating space monster.

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