You have probably heard or read in the news recently about a magnificent sight in the night sky in the Northern hemisphere – the Neowise comet. It’s been discovered since March 2020 with the help of the Neowise space telescope, hence its name, but at the time of discovery it was of a +10 magnitude, thus not visible to the naked eye.
This month, however, its magnitude reduced to around +3 – which means that the comet is not only now visible to the naked eye, but it can also be seen in relatively light polluted areas, such as bigger cities! It is actually so bright that it is the second brightest comet in the night sky after the Hale-Bopp comet of 1997. Remember it?
So, if you live in Earth’s northern hemisphere, and if your sky is clear of clouds (…and, of course, if you don’t live in polar regions, where the Polar Day currently occurs), do take a look at the night sky! Best is to look just after the nautical twilight, or when the stars start being seen in the North-north-west direction, just a little bit above the horizon! More exactly, locate the well known asterism Big Dipper and look just right under it! You will not regret it!
And if you want to take photos of the comet, don’t forget your tripods! I forgot it and the photos look blurry, but still nice! Did you manage to take nice pictures of it? And remember, if you’d like to get to know the night sky better – do visit me in Vadsø next winter, where the perspective of the zenith is completely different and where light pollution almost doesn’t exist, and let’s go on an Arctic Stargazing adventure together!
