NASA shares skywatching tips on how to photograph Comet NEOWISE

The Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) will appear above the northwestern horizon in the night sky and people can see it with their naked eyes. But those living in brightly-lit cities may have to use binoculars to see it as they would not want to miss the opportunity because the comet will not return to Earth's skies for about 6,800 years. The comet is visible right now as an evening object, but its closest approach to Earth will be on July 22, at a distance of about 64 million miles (103 million kilometers).

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Bill Dunford, a social media specialist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and an amateur astrophotographer recently shared tips on how to capture comet in the night sky as it is difficult to take pictures of the dark sky. Bill shared his experience, as he said that one should mount the camera on a tripod and the pictures in manual mode so that the shutter remains open for several seconds, 4 seconds to be precise. When the shutter remains open for that long, it lets a lot of light come in and does the trick of capturing a comet in the night sky. The picture should be taken far away from light pollution, meaning away from city lights. Wide-angle lens is also advised as a zoom lens would not be able to capture the tail of the comet which can take up wide enough area. 

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Unpredictability of comet 

Comets are notoriously unpredictable, so it's impossible to know if this one will remain so easy to spot, but if it does, it should become easier for more people to observe as July goes on. "From mid-July on, it's best viewed as an evening object, rising increasingly higher above the northwestern horizon. (Note that observers at lower latitudes will see the comet lower in the sky, while it will appear higher for observers farther north)," said NASA. 

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The comet, named after NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) survived its recent closest approach to the Sun and is now headed back toward the outer solar system, where it travels to the farthest distance of 715 astronomical units, or AU, from the Sun. (For comparison, Earth orbits at 1 AU, Jupiter at 5 AU, and Neptune at 30 AU). The comet will return to Earth after making one lap around its long, stretched out orbit, which takes thousands of years.   

Read: Where Is Comet Neowise Tonight? Know The Time When It Will Be Visible

(Image Credit: NASA)