Don't miss comet NEOWISE in the sky tonight

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It won't be back for 6,800 years

By Lau G. - Sun 19 July 2020 Image credit: Alyn Wallace Photography ©

You may not be aware, but there's currently a comet going past Earth this month that is actually visible to the naked eye. Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE (named after the telescope that discovered it earlier this year) is casually flying past our planet, far enough not to melt by the heat of our star, but close enough for us here on Earth to see it without any lens' help. No need to drag your dad's dusty telescope out of the attic, during July all you need to do is get up early (or just not go to bed) and look north east for a glimpse of one of the brightest comets to go past Earth this century.

NEOWISE will be visible until the end of the month, when it gets as close as 64 million miles to Earth, before continuing with its elliptical orbit towards the farthest end of our solar system.

Source: Space.com

There's only one catch: NEOWISE is only visible from one hemisphere. Do you live in the right one?

Find out here