Comet Neowise Didn't Fracture and Fizzle Out

[Friends just call me Ross]

Comet Neowise didn't fracture and fizzle out like the previous two comets of 2020.  The reason is, its core was large enough (5km) to survive a trip around the sun.

 

Now it is visible to the naked eye, but is even better when viewed through binoculars.

Neowise as seen in Spain.  Photo by Juan Carlos Casado

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For Comet NEOWISE, the future looks bright.

 

Its large nucleus is a reservoir of dust and gas that should continue to fill the comet's double tail with visible material for weeks to come.

 

Observing tips: Wake up about 90 minutes before sunrise, find a place with a clear horizon, and look northeast.

 

The comet is visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy patch with a tail. Binoculars are recommended for full effect. Sky 

spaceweather.com

 

 

[Friends just call me Ross]

Photo of Neowise taken today in Italy:

 

 

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The double tail of comet NEOWISE is getting brighter in the dusk sky. This image has been taken with a full frame camera and a 200 mm lens. The tails are extended several degrees. The comet and the dust tails are easy to see with the naked eye.  spaceweather.com photo gallery

 

[New World Explorer]

3 hours ago, Friends just call me Ross said:

Observing tips: Wake up about 90 minutes before sunrise

This is the reason I never see any comets...LOL 

[Friends just call me Ross]

A nightsky trifecta: 

spaceweather.com 

STEVE, picket fence auroras, and Comet NEOWISE over western Canada on July 14, 2020. Photo credit: Harlan Thomas.

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A SURPRISE VISIT FROM STEVE: Comet photographers in Canada were surprised this week when the night sky filled with purple ribbons of light. It looked like auroras, but it was not. Comet NEOWISE was photobombed by STEVE, a recently discovered glow caused by hot ribbons of gas in Earth's magnetic field. 

 

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"A SURPRISE VISIT FROM STEVE: Comet photographers in Canada were surprised this week when the night sky filled with purple ribbons of light. It looked like auroras, but it was not. Comet NEOWISE was photobombed by STEVE, a recently discovered glow caused by hot ribbons of gas in Earth's magnetic field. "

 

Isn't that what auroras are?

"An aurora is a colorful light show in the sky caused by the Sun. Auroras happen when particles from the Sun interact with gases in our atmosphere, causing beautiful displays of light in the sky."  Wipedia   

[Friends just call me Ross]

https://www.space.com/steve-aurora-powered-by-electrons.html

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That Weird, Aurora-Like Phenomenon Called STEVE Finally Has an Explanation

By Elizabeth Howell May 06, 2019

 

Scientists finally have an explanation for the weird celestial phenomenon called STEVE, which looks and behaves a lot like an aurora but has key differences.

A typical aurora — sometimes called the northern lights or the southern lights, depending on the hemisphere in which it's located — occurs when charged particles from the sun interact with Earth's oxygen and nitrogen molecules. This interaction excites the molecules and causes them to glow.

 

But STEVE, formally known as Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, is different. In the Northern Hemisphere, the phenomenon is visible from areas farther south than a typical aurora, and it looks like a ribbon of pink or mauve light. Sometimes, STEVE even has a "picket fence" appearance, with green columns of light passing through the ribbon. Auroras, by contrast, usually are shimmering green ribbons.

 

For a while, STEVE's origins were elusive. The phenomenon was discovered in 2016 by citizen scientists in western Canada. A 2018 study showed that its glow, unlike one leading hypothesis had proposed, does not result from charged particles falling into the atmosphere. The authors also pointed out that STEVE can show up at the same time as an aurora does, which makes it even harder to figure out which is which.

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https://www.uptobrain.com/steve-a-mysterious-aurora-discovered-by-a-young-astronomer/

The green ribbons are auroras.  The purple ribbons between the green ribbons are STEVE.  

[Friends just call me Ross]

We got done hauling and wrapping around 11:30 pm.

 

The skies were incredibly clear, for a refreshing change, and twinkling stars were everywhere!

 

Recalling that Comet Neowise is now visible to the naked eye (in the northern hemisphere)

I looked up at the Big Dipper and, sure enough, right below the Big Dipper was Comet Neowise.

 

Went to the house to get the binoculars and the view of the comet was even more spectacular!

 

To the southwest was an amazing electrical storm, and to the northwest was an amazing comet.

Ahhhh...life is good.  

 

Here is a pic of the comet taken night before last, 40 miles to the north of me, on Lake Superior:

[Friends just call me Ross]

Comet Neowise over Yellowstone's geysers field:

Space weather.com

[Friends just call me Ross]

!     COMET NEOWISE IS APPROACHING EARTH: Tomorrow night may be your best chance to see Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) for the next 6,800 years. On July 23rd, the comet makes its closest approach to Earth--only 0.63 AU (103 million km) away. It's still visible to the naked eye (barely) from dark sky sites, but will fade as it recedes after this week. Here's where to look just below the Big Dipper: More sky maps: July 22, July 23, July 24. If you can't see the comet naked-eye after the Thursday evening sky fades to black, try using binoculars. Even a little magnification brings