{"id":31628,"date":"2020-07-14T14:31:16","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T09:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/astron-soc.in\/outreach\/?p=31628"},"modified":"2020-07-17T13:24:49","modified_gmt":"2020-07-17T07:54:49","slug":"comet-neowise-c-2020-f3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/astron-soc.in\/outreach\/2020\/07\/comet-neowise-c-2020-f3\/","title":{"rendered":"Comet NEOWISE C\/2020 F3"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Comet<\/a>

Comet NEOWISE as seen from Hanle, India Credit : Dorje Angchuk<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

 <\/p>\n

This visitor to our neighbourhood is currently making the news, as it offers breathtaking views now in the dawn<\/del> evening skies across the Northern Hemisphere. Called C\/2020 F3 in the astronomical circles, it is a non-periodic comet which was the third discovered in late March 2020 by the space telescope instrument NEOWISE<\/a> (hence the popular name).<\/p>\n

This icy body has already finished it's closest approach to the Sun and has grown a magnificent \"tail\" due to vapourisation of it's components and outgasing. It is now on it's way out of the Solar system on it's huge orbit with a period of close to 5 thousand years. Although it's tail should dwindle in the coming days, it is also getting closer to the Earth, hence getting brighter. This is a unmissable sight as it's the best comet seen in a decade or so. Catch it with your binoculars for better details or take pictures to share. You can also participate in our Comet Photography Contest<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhotography tips\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGallery\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tContest\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Where to see it<\/h3>

<\/a>
\nEarlier in July, the comet will be seen close to the horizon at dawn, towards the North-East. The bright star Capella is a good pointer to the rough direction to look at for locating the comet. The bright planet Venus will be approximately at a similar height from the horizon but much further to the East of the comet.<\/p>\n

For the later part of July, the comet will be in the evening sky for Indian latitudes. In this case knowing the constellation of Saptarishi or the Great Bear will be useful. By the 14th of July, the comet should still be a naked-eye object and will be located below the \"trapezium\" of the constellation and the constellation of Leo. On the 23rd of July, the comet will pass closest to the Earth (at a more than safe distance of 54 million kilometers) and may be still bright and extended enough to be a rewarding sight. On that evening, it will also be the easiest to locate as you can join the brightest star of the \"trapezium\" to the star below it and extend the imaginary line towards the horizon. This line will take you near the approximate position of the comet in those 2-3 days.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"\"<\/a>

The path of the comet in the sky during July. Credit: Skyhound<\/p><\/div><\/div>

The star chart above is a good resource for locating the comet in the sky. It will be useful if you know your cardinal directions and some constellations in the sky.<\/p>\n

This linked page by \"Sky & Telescope\"<\/a> has some more detailed help and star charts. You can see previews of them below. [Copyright \u00a92020 AAS Sky Publishing LLC.]<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/a>

Comet NEOWISE sky position - July 10\u201315. Credit: Sky & Telescope<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"\"<\/a>

Comet NEOWISE sky position - July 14\u201323. Credit: Sky & Telescope<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"\"<\/a>

Comet and Golden Gate Bridge. Credit: Darshan Shankar<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

How to see it<\/h3>

For a morning view, you should start as early as possible after the comet \"rises\". Assuming you have a cloud free sky, the comet should be bright enough to see with naked eyes about 1.5 hours before sunrise. A good idea will be to to find the approximate area of location and use a pair of binoculars to survey the same. The full comet may not be visible in the \"field\" of the binoculars as it's tail may extend to many degrees in length.<\/p>\n

The same applies for when the comet transfers over to the evening skies. It will however be rising \"up\" from the horizon as the days pass and so may be visible till later. It will be dwindling in brightness after it's close pass to the Earth on July 23rd. At a later date it's best to use binoculars for a good view.<\/p>\n

If you are using any telescopic aid with your eyes, note that the the comet will not be as spectacular as the popular photographs. It will look fuzzier as you increase magnification. You may ofcourse attach a camera to it and capture good images of it.<\/p>\n

 
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Take your own pictures<\/h3>

Comet NEOWISE is the most exciting new comet that has come up since the 1990's. Obviously you may wish to take a picture when you spot it and share it with your friends. However, even the best photography equipment may need some fine tuning to get a good shot.<\/p>\n

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  1. Use a Tripod or rest the camera on a stable base before composing and shooting.<\/li>\n
  2. Switch off the flash (!) and try the \"night mode\" in your point and shoot or mobile camera.<\/li>\n
  3. For lovely landscape composition with the comet as a part of it, use a wider (smaller ~50mm) focal length.<\/li>\n
  4. To get the comet to fill the picture, you should go for a focal length of close to ~300 mm.<\/li>\n
  5. For shots of things in the dark your camera may need to expose for a longer time (lower shutter speed). The comet and stars actually move in the sky and thus too long an exposure may result in them showing trails instead of a sharp image.\u00a0 So choose a focal length and then take a few shots of the stars at that setting to see what is the exposure for which there is no or least trail.<\/li>\n
  6. Go for manual focus if possible with you camera and check sharpness with test shots.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
    \"\"<\/a>

    Petr Hor\u00e1lek at the Se\u010d lake, Czech Republic. Canon 6D, Sigma 50mm, ISO 1000, f2.5, 8sec exposure. <\/p><\/div><\/div>

    You can find some really amazing and inspiring pictures at this webpage by Spaceweather.com.<\/a>
    \n    <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

    Breathtaking Comet NEOWISE images from India<\/h3>\n\t\t