Comet NEOWISE could surprise you in July 2020, Know details why

The NEOWISE comet has been an intriguing site for several wanderers of the sky. It was first discovered on March 27, 2020, using a NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) space telescope. After its discovery, it was listed as C/2020 F3 which was located 312 million kilometres (194 million miles) from the sun. 

At a very faint magnitude of +17, it is considered to be 25,000 times fainter than the faintest star that can be glimpsed with the naked eye. One can only see this comet using large telescopes. However, July marks the change in the expectations of many astronomers as the Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE might become a glowing object for skywatchers. This is the first time in this year that a comet has raised such hopes after two previous comets, ATLAS and SWAN, fizzled out earlier this year. 

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Comet NEOWISE survives its closest approach to the Sun

Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE has bravely survived its perihelion (closest orbit to the Sun) efficiently. This is reportedly for the first time in 2020 because C/2020 F3's predecessor comets ATLAS and SWAN could not. According to several reports, Comet NEOWISE completed its approach to the sun in a perfectly circular and well-condensed coma. Many astronomers compared this to the faint, wispy, almost ghostly coma displayed by Comet ATLAS and the "hammerhead" looking coma of Comet SWAN and this is the reported reason why both of those objects faded away before either of them could reach the vicinity of the sun.

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After Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE's survival on its perihelion orbit on Friday i.e. July 3, Michael Mattiazzo, a veteran Australian comet watcher, had confidently stated that NEOWISE would remain intact, giving at least a 70% chance that it would survive its close brush with the sun. Surprisingly, C/2020 F3 did survive from the distance of 27.3 million miles (44 million km) from the sun on July 3, when it was subjected to temperatures of up to 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit (593 degrees Celsus). It is reportedly said that many observers were able to spot the comet with a naked-eye view without any telescope.

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From June 22 through June 27, the comet was within the range of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). SOHO is a cooperative mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. The spacecraft is stationed in a halo orbit around the sun-Earth L1 Lagrangian point, a position roughly 930,000 miles (1.5 million km) sunward of Earth. At this point in space, the orbital period of SOHO exactly matches the orbital period of Earth. From this orbit, SOHO is able to observe the sun 24 hours a day.

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Using its LASCO-3 (Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph), Comet NEOWISE could be monitored as it passed near to the sun. The LASCO-3 is said to be able to create an artificial solar eclipse. During this time, the comet appeared to significantly brighten, with comet expert Charles Morris estimating a magnitude of +1.7 just before it passed out of the field of the LASCO-3 camera. Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE also appeared to have developed a rather bright, albeit short and stubby forked-shaped dust tail. 

Some Images ed by Jereme Perez of the C/2020 F3 Comet NEOWISE

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