In case you missed it, here’s what the NEOWISE comet looked like from California.
In March this year, the NEOWISE (NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) telescope discovered a new comet. At this point, it was still around 250 million km away. But in July it beamed bright enough to be visible to the naked eye under dark skies, creating a dazzling display for those living in the northern hemisphere.
Along its orbit, it has a close brush with the sun and left with an amazing glowing tail. Of course, this drew photographers and skywatchers out at crazy hours of the morning in the beginning of July. However, as it drew closer to the earth (reaching its closest proximity on the July 22) viewers were able to see it after sunset. If you didn’t manage to catch it before disappearing for another 6,800 years, then you can still see the spectacular photos captured from various places in California.
Los Angeles
Northeast of Lake Sonoma
Hot Creek Geological Site
Mount Shasta
Northern California
This morning Tony Hallas caught Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE from his base in Northern California, producing this breathtaking image. Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/jglkxAjIDw
— David Eicher (@deicherstar) July 10, 2020
Great images of Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE continue to stream in. Here’s the latest from Tony Hallas, taken yesterday morning from his base in Northern California. Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/bKJQUSKNG9
— David Eicher (@deicherstar) July 12, 2020
San Jose
Comet Neowise fly over Lick Observatory
Taken by Yitao Liu on July 8, 2020 @ San Jose, California USA.
It is taken by a telescope with 576mm focal length, with total of 11 minutes of exposure on the comet to show the ionized tail under the city light and moon light. pic.twitter.com/kFEVMXKa8u
— mizuho kai (@mizuho73700856) July 9, 2020
Catalina
Clear skies and an amazing view of Comet #NEOWISE over Catalina. Thanks to Karl Huggins for taking this stellar photograph from the lab. pic.twitter.com/65GGiXHltX
— USC Wrigley Inst. (@USCWrigleyInst) July 24, 2020
Palmdale
Joshua Tree
Imagem incrível do cometa C/2020 F3 (Neowise) e Árvore de Josué, no Joshua Tree National Park #EUA.
Amazing composition of the comet C/2020 F3 (Neowise) and Joshua Tree @JoshuaTreeNPS #California
(c) Jack Fusco, 9/Jul/2020 pic.twitter.com/wtNXyItsE7
— Astronomia USP Brasil (@AstroUSP) July 11, 2020
Death Valley National Park
Hello Mr @TheAstroShake… Can you help us determine if we captured Comet #SWAN or Comet #NEOWISE? These pictures were snapped near the southern border of Death Valley National Park (California), July 05, 2020, around 4:30 AM Pacific Standard Time facing north-northeast. Thanks! pic.twitter.com/0HfJmqeXj4
— UFO Seekers (@ufo_seekers) July 11, 2020
Hollister
Phone pic(!) of #comet #neowise moments ago from the slopes of Fremont Peak. Hollister, #California in the foreground.#Cawx @_ZachIntyre @NWSBayArea #TeamPixel pic.twitter.com/O7ytqnQ7uP
— Dann Cianca ☄️🔥 (@danncianca) July 10, 2020
Mount Laguna
If you’d like to see what the rest of the world saw then you can head over to these dedicated Instagram accounts: @neowisetr and @cometneowise.
Featured Image: u:kmk1986 via Reddit