Comet Neowise
by Rob Hemphill
Title
Comet Neowise
Artist
Rob Hemphill
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
This image of Comet Neowise was taken in the night on 19 July 2020 from the shores of Ireland's largest inland lough, Lough Derg. The location is Dromineer in County Tipperary, which is known for its sailing, boating and fishing. As can be seen, it also has an old castle aside the main jetty. Small boats cruise around the 30 mile long and 2 mile wide lake. The River Shannon runs through Lough Derg and several other loughs as well - all can be navigated by sail boats and cruisers.
It appeared fairly low in the north-western sky in the constellation of Ursa Major, below the asterism of the Big Dipper (The Plough). For observers in the northern hemisphere, it can also be seen in the morning, the comet appears very low above the north-eastern horizon, below Capella.
C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) or Comet NEOWISE is a long period comet with a near-parabolic orbit discovered on March 27, 2020, by astronomers during the NEOWISE mission of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space telescope. At that time, it was an 18th-magnitude object, located 2 AU (300 million km; 190 million mi) away from the Sun and 1.7 AU (250 million km; 160 million mi) away from Earth.
In July 2020, it was bright enough to be visible to the naked eye. It is one of the brightest comets in the northern hemisphere since Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997 and was widely observed as being clearly visible with the naked eye. Under dark skies, it can be clearly seen with the naked eye and might remain visible to the naked eye throughout most of July 2020, at least until July 23, the point of the comet's closest approach to Earth. Prior to that date, the comet will be getting closer to Earth as it moves farther away from the Sun. As of July 18, the comet was about magnitude 3. Near urban areas binoculars are required to locate the comet.
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Featured in the following FAA Groups:
"Monthly Theme and Artist Promotion Group" 07/31/2020
"10 Plus" 07/30/2020
"Water Forms" 07/29/2020
"Only Doors and Windows Photography" 07/21/2020
"Fine Art America Professionals" 07/21/2020
"Light Rays And Lightning" 07/21/2020
"Light Marvels" 07/21/2020
"Nikon Full Frame Cameras" 07/21/2020
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Uploaded
July 21st, 2020
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