Spectacular Comet NEOWISE Delivers Best Northern Hemisphere Show Since 1997
Comet NEOWISE is currently wowing early risers with a stunning naked-eye display, easily outperforming recent comets ATLAS and SWAN. The celestial visitor is now shifting its visibility to the evening sky as it heads back toward the outer solar system.
Comet NEOWISE is providing the best comet performance for Northern Hemisphere observers since Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. The comet emphatically ends a nearly 25-year drought of spectacular comets, easily outshining recent disappointments like comets ATLAS and SWAN. It brightened 100-fold as it approached the sun, proving itself to be an intrinsically bright object with a highly condensed core.
The comet reaches its closest point to the sun on July 3, sweeping to within 27.7 million miles of our star before heading back out to the outer reaches of space. As it moves away from the sun, NEOWISE continues to evolve and its distinctive tail continues to grow longer. Until now, early risers who scan the northeast horizon just before sunrise see the comet rising tail-first with a head that shines as brightly as a first-magnitude star.
Observers with dark skies away from city light pollution currently view this impressive celestial display completely naked-eye. The comet is transitioning from its early morning position to become visible in the evening sky, giving more people a chance to witness the event. Astrophotographers are already capturing stunning images of NEOWISE, documenting a truly memorable astronomical encounter.