Comet NEOWISE

For other comets discovered by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer satellite, see Comet WISE and NEOWISE.

C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)
C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) or the "Great Comet of 2020" photographed from Germany on July 14, 2020
Discovery
Discovered byNEOWISE
Discovery dateMarch 27, 2020[1]
Designations
  • Great Comet of 2020
  • C/2020 F3
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch2458953.5 (April 14, 2020)
Observation arc113 days
Number of
observations		376
Orbit typeLong period comet
Aphelion538 AU (inbound)
710 AU (outbound)
Perihelion0.29478 AU
Semi-major axis270 AU (inbound)
355 AU (outbound)
Eccentricity0.99921
Orbital period~4500 yrs (inbound)[2]
~6800 yrs (outbound)
Inclination128.93°
61.01°
Argument of
periapsis		37.28°
Last perihelionJuly 3, 2020
TJupiter−0.408
Earth MOID0.36 AU (54 million km; 140 LD)
Jupiter MOID0.81 AU (121 million km)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions~5 km (3 mi)[1]

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.[4]

NEOWISE is known for being the brightest comet in the northern hemisphere since Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997.[5] It was widely photographed by professional and amateur observers and was even spotted by people living near city centers and areas with light pollution.[6] While it was too close to the Sun to be observed at perihelion, it emerged from perihelion around magnitude 0.5 to 1, making it bright enough to be visible to the naked eye.[7] Under dark skies, it could be seen with the naked eye[8] and remained visible to the naked eye throughout July 2020.[9] By July 30, the comet was about magnitude 5,[10] when binoculars were required near urban areas to locate the comet.

For observers in the Northern Hemisphere, the comet could be seen on the northwestern horizon, below the Big Dipper. North of 45 degrees north, the comet was visible all night in mid-July 2020. On July 30, Comet NEOWISE entered the constellation of Coma Berenices, below the bright star Arcturus.

NEOWISE was retroactively dubbed the Great Comet of 2020.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference discovery_date was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Horizons was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)". Small-Body Database Lookup. ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference MPEC2020-G05 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Dan Falk (July 9, 2020). "One of the brightest comets in decades is passing Earth. Here's how to see it". National Geographic. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Adam Mann (July 15, 2020). "Comet NEOWISE: How to See It in Night Skies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  7. ^ Mark Armstrong (July 17, 2020). "Don't miss Comet NEOWISE in the evening". Astronomy Now. Archived from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Earthsky20200710 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Yoshida was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference COBS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).