by Conscious Reminder
2020 will play host to a newly discovered and dubbed comet called NEOWISE which is surprisingly visible with the naked eye.
The comet was first discovered by the Neowise satellite of NASA when it was traversing the Sun.
After surviving its encounter with the bright star, it would circumnavigate around its orbit, and reach a point so close to Earth that it would be visible to the naked eye.
People living in the Northern Hemisphere would be able to watch these shooting stars rocket through the sky through most parts of July.
Since comets aren’t easily visible in the blue sky, the best time to watch them would be at sunrise, where there is enough light to make the comet visible. According to Karl Battams, if people want to see this comet, they would need to get up pretty early.
It has been theorized that the comet would be steadily climbing higher as it gets back into orbit early August. NEOWISE was first given a shout out by ISS astronaut Bob Behnken.
Last night's fireworks, for real. Because Science. #NEOWISE #comet pic.twitter.com/IKcJ1wLFAl
— Bob Behnken (@AstroBehnken) July 5, 2020
Ivan Vagner of the ISS too tweeted about the comet, putting emphasis on the abnormally glowing tail of the comet, which would ensure its survival whilst in orbit.
Most people have already started seeing the comet around the horizon, and if you are worried about the perils associated with it- there are none. The comet will pass harmlessly, and will just make up for a beautiful night.
The satellite discovering this comet, the Neowise, has its work cut out for it. It reports back to NASA about seeing any objects in outer space that are passing too close to Earth.
They have infrared rays, which help them see comets- one of the darkest objects in the night sky. The satellite was first launched in 2009, under the name WISE.
Then NASA revamped it in 2013 with the name NEOWISE- for it had extra duties now- calculating the population of Near- Earth Objects (NEO). Neowise has been particularly effective in providing information about the many bodies that are revolving around us.
With that information, scientists have been able to chart trajectories of many planetary bodies, such as this comet.
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