Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2020 July 14

                        Comet NEOWISE over Stonehenge
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Declan Deval

   Explanation: Have you ever seen a comet? Tonight -- and likely the next
   few nights -- should be a good chance. Go outside just at sunset and
   look to your northwest. The lower your horizon, the better. Binoculars
   may help, but if your sky is cloudless and dark, all you should need is
   your unaided eyes and patience. As the Sun sets, the sky will darken,
   and there will be an unusual faint streak pointing diagonally near the
   horizon. That is Comet NEOWISE. It is a 5-kilometer-wide evaporating
   dirty iceberg visiting from -- and returning to -- the outer Solar
   System. As the Earth turns, the comet will soon set, so you might want
   to take a picture. In the featured image, Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) was
   captured two mornings ago rising over Stonehenge in the UK. Discovered
   with the NASA satellite NEOWISE toward the end of March, Comet NEOWISE
   has surprised many by surviving its closest approach to the Sun,
   brightening dramatically, and developing impressive (blue) ion and
   (white) dust tails.

    Notable Images of Comet NEOWISE Submitted to APOD: || July 13 || July
                    12 || July 11 || July 10 & earlier ||
                      Tomorrow's picture: NEOWISE Night
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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