{"id":20888,"date":"2020-07-18T13:09:03","date_gmt":"2020-07-18T17:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=20888"},"modified":"2020-07-18T13:16:27","modified_gmt":"2020-07-18T17:16:27","slug":"comet-neowise-comes-closest-to-earth-on-july-22nd-watch-it-at-night-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=20888","title":{"rendered":"Comet NEOWISE comes closest to Earth on July 22nd&#8212;watch it at night this weekend while the crescent moonlight is still dim"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>How to best see Comet NEOWISE before it fades into space<\/h1>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20889\" style=\"width: 850px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20889\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20889\" src=\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"840\" height=\"560\" srcset=\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.jpg 840w, http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ca-times.brightspotcdn-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/ca-times.brightspotcdn-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20889\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Comet NEOWISE, formally known as C\/2020 F3, moves across the sky July 10 from Mount Wilson Road in the Angeles National Forest. The photo was taken with a four-second exposure.(Raul Roa \/ The Daily Pilot \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>By MARY FORGIONE<br \/>\nASSISTANT TRAVEL EDITOR<\/p>\n<p>Comet NEOWISE is putting on a spectacular fireball show in the night sky. Never heard of it? The glowing-tail beauty has been wowing comet watchers around the world this week. Comets don\u2019t come streaking our way all that often, at least not bright ones you can see with the naked eye.<\/p>\n<p>The essential weekly guide to enjoying the outdoors in Southern California. Insider tips on the best of our beaches, trails, parks, deserts, forests and mountains.<\/p>\n<div class=\"enhancement\" data-align-center=\"\">\n<p class=\"module-description\">Comets ATLAS and SWAN held bright promise earlier this year after passing close to the sun. That didn\u2019t happen to NEOWISE, which <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/comet-neowise-visibility-july-2020.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Space.com<\/a> says has \u201cemphatically\u201d ended a quarter-century drought of spectacular comets. It\u2019s hailed as the best show since the Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Beautiful Declan Deval image.<br \/>Comet Neowise over Stonehenge UK on the 10th. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kgKe4E2rFG\">pic.twitter.com\/kgKe4E2rFG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Con Stoitsis (@vivstoitsis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/vivstoitsis\/status\/1282254260554493952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 12, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"whats-that-name-about\" class=\"subhead\">What\u2019s that name about?<\/h2>\n<p>Like all A-listers, the comet has a Southern California pedigree: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Ca\u00f1ada Flintridge operates the deep space telescope that discovered the comet on March 27. The comet\u2019s official name is C\/2020 F3; the telescope\u2019s acronym,\u00a0<a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/neowise\/main\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NEOWISE<\/a>, for Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, was added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn its discovery images, Comet NEOWISE appeared as a glowing, fuzzy dot moving across the sky even when it was still pretty far away,\u201d Amy Mainzer, NEOWISE principal investigator at the University of Arizona, said on\u00a0<a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/jpl\/comet-neowise-sizzles-as-it-slides-by-the-sun-providing-a-treat-for-observers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NASA\u2019s website<\/a>. \u201cAs soon as we saw how close it would come to the sun, we had hopes that it would put on a good show.\u201d (Here are\u00a0<a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jpl.nasa.gov\/spaceimages\/details.php?id=PIA23792\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">early photos<\/a>\u00a0of its discovery.)<\/p>\n<p>The telescope started taking pictures December 2009, was turned off in February 2011, got rebooted and renamed in 2013, and has been producing millions of infrared images of distant comets and asteroids ever since.<\/p>\n<p>Space.com describes NEOWISE\u2019s most visually stunning trait as \u201ca beautiful, gently curved tail of dust which many observers using binoculars and small telescopes have remarked has shown a noticeable yellowish tinge.\u201d Got that? That\u2019s what you\u2019ll be looking for in the sky.<\/p>\n<p>NASA Science Live will air an episode about NEOWISE at noon Pacific time Wednesday on the\u00a0<a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/nasalive\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">agency\u2019s website<\/a>\u00a0as well as on its social media channels.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"whats-the-best-time-to-see-the-comet\" class=\"subhead\">What\u2019s the best time to see the comet?<\/h2>\n<p>Last weekend, NEOWISE was visible in the pre-dawn hours. Now it has flipped to evening mode, making for more dramatic viewing against the dark night sky. So peel yourself away from Netflix and go outside for a look. If you miss it, this comet won\u2019t be back for about 7,000 years.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20893\" style=\"width: 649px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20893\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20893\" src=\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-18-at-1.15.41-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"639\" height=\"637\" srcset=\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-18-at-1.15.41-PM.png 639w, http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-18-at-1.15.41-PM-300x300.png 300w, http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-18-at-1.15.41-PM-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 639px) 100vw, 639px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20893\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This photo illustration shows where to find Comet NEOWISE in the night sky.<br \/>(Isaac Cabrera)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Reader Isaac Cabrera photographed the comet 9:24 p.m. Tuesday night from a point in the San Gabriel Mountains. \u201cIt took me about half an hour to find the comet, since a lot of the guides I looked at online were not particularly helpful,\u201d he wrote in an email. (Camera settings: f1.8, 20mm, 20s (exposure), ISO-400.)<\/p>\n<p>NEOWISE will be brightest about an hour and a half after sunset between now and Sunday. Look to the north-northwest and it should be about 10 degrees above the horizon. It will come closest to Earth on July 22. More good news: The sky will be good and dark because the moon is in crescent mode and won\u2019t cast light that could ruin your view.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Comet Neowise visits the Teide Observatory in Tenerife. Image courtesy Marina Pir. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/LyTYogLAKx\">pic.twitter.com\/LyTYogLAKx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Con Stoitsis (@vivstoitsis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/vivstoitsis\/status\/1282433680288301056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 12, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The comet will begin to fade later in July, though still be visible with a small telescope until it disappears to the outer solar system around mid-August, according to Space.com.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"best-ways-to-see-the-comet\" class=\"subhead\">Best ways to see the comet<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Seek a dark spot far from city lights. Light pollution in urban areas creates a big obstacle when it comes to stargazing. You could drive to high points in the Angeles National Forest, the Santa Monica Mountains or Big Bear Lake for some darkness. Farther afield, Joshua Tree and Death Valley national parks have super-dark skies (and are super-hot by day) that have earned them International Dark Sky Park designations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Haze, smoke, clouds and fog banks can be obstacles to seeing NEOWISE too. Keep trying on subsequent evenings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>You should be able to see the comet with the naked eye, but binoculars or a small telescope could help. Here are\u00a0<a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/travel\/story\/2020-04-23\/night-sky-best-telescopes-binoculars-gear-apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">some gear tips<\/a>\u00a0that could help beginning backyard stargazers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/travel\/story\/2020-07-14\/best-way-to-see-comet-neowise\">https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/travel\/story\/2020-07-14\/best-way-to-see-comet-neowise<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to best see Comet NEOWISE before it fades into space<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20888\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}