 "NASA astronaut Bob Behnken shares pictures of 'fireworks' from the Neowise comet")
Astronauts managed to get a stunning glimpse of a natural light show from a comet this weekend. Called Comet Neowise, or C/2020 F3, it was first observed at the end of March and appeared as an icy lump.
However, with time, the comet has brightened a lot, mesmerising skywatchers, reported Space.com.
NASA astronaut Bob Behnken posted a tweet from the International Space Station on 5 July, highlighting Neowise. He captioned the post, “Last night’s fireworks, for real. Because Science."
[caption id=“attachment_8571981” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Astronaut Bob Behnken captured an image of the Neowise comet from the ISS. Image credit: Twitter[/caption]
Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner also shared images of the comet on Twitter, highlighting its tail in sharp contrast to the immense blackness of the space.
During the next revolution I tried to capture the C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) comet a bit closer, the brightest one over the last 7 years.
— Ivan Vagner (@ivan_mks63) July 4, 2020
Its tail is quite clearly visible from the @Space_Station!#ISS #comet #NEOWISE pic.twitter.com/FnWkCummD6
Vagner commented on Neowise’s tail, adding that the comet is “the brightest one over the last 7 years."
The Space.com report states that the comet should be visible throughout the month of July, and will approach closest to the Earth around 22 July.
As per an earlier article by CNET, Neowise is the third comet of 2020 to be discovered by astronomers, who have stated that it could become visible to the naked eye. The other two comets, Atlas and Swan too held the same potential but broke up or fizzled out before they could actually become that bright.
Astronomer Dr Tony Phillips in an article on Spaceweather.com had written that there is a possibility that the comet would blossom in the weeks after perihelion or closest approach to the sun.
“Northern hemisphere observers would be able to easily see it in the evening sky in mid-July,” he said.
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