Comet NEOWISE Delivers Once-in-a-Lifetime Sky Show
Comet NEOWISE puts on a spectacular display in July 2020, treating observers on Earth and the International Space Station to the brightest comet seen in decades. The icy visitor will not return to the inner solar system for nearly 7,000 years.
Comet NEOWISE provides a spectacular celestial show for skywatchers across the Northern Hemisphere in July 2020. The comet stands out as the brightest such object to light up the night sky in decades, thrilling observers in North America, Europe, and aboard the International Space Station.
An astronaut aboard the space station captures the event by taking over 340 photos as the comet rises above the sunlit limb of Earth over Central Asia. The comet features a nucleus measuring about 5 kilometers in diameter, with dramatic dust and ion tails that stretch millions of kilometers away from the Sun.
Because of its highly elliptical orbit, NEOWISE represents a truly rare event that will not occur again for approximately 6,800 years. Discovered in March 2020 by NASA's NEOWISE spacecraft, the ancient comet is made of frozen leftovers from the formation of the solar system that heat up and glow as they approach the Sun.