NEOWISE: Rare comet trails night skies across the globe

Switzerland

Comet C/2020 or "Neowise" was seen in the night sky over Switzerland on July 19-20, its tail of gas and dust debris clearly visible from the ground near Lausanne.

It is the brightest comet to grace the skies on Earth since the 1997 Comet Hale-Bopp.

(Photograph:Reuters)

Italy

The Comet C/2020 was spotted in the sky of Rome and Malta in Italy on July 13. One of the most fascinating details about Comet NEOWISE is that it won't return to our skies for another 6,800 years.

(Photograph:Reuters)

Japan

The comet was also seen in Nayoro, a city in the Hokkaido district of Japan on July 11.

There is "about 13 million Olympic swimming pools of water," in Comet NEOWISE.

(Photograph:Reuters)

France

Star gazers were treated to the sight of a blazing comet early in the morning skies in Montlucon, France on July 8 as it approached close to the sun.

This celestial guest will be gracing Earth’s skies till mid-August, but will only be visible till early August. Unlike Neowise, most comets that pass close to Earth don’t present a spectacular show.

(Photograph:Reuters)

History

Officially known as C/2020 F3, Comet NEOWISE is a comet that was discovered on March 27, 2020, by NEOWISE, the asteroid-hunting afterlife of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission. 

Comets are frozen leftovers from the formation of the solar system composed of dust, rock and ices ranging from a few miles to tens of miles wide.

(Photograph:Reuters)