Neowise comet likely to be visible next week after sunset
The C/2020 F3 comet or the Neowise comet has become the object of interest for the 1,000-odd strong stargazers and astronomy enthusiasts. Since July 14, this group has been trying to get a glimpse of what the “naked eye” comet, which can be spotted without the a pair of binoculars or a telescope.
The Neowise comet was discovered on March 27 by the American space agency NASA’s NearEarth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, an orbiting telescope. Astronomers have since calculated that the next time the comet makes its visit will be 6,800 years later.
Praveen Suryavanshi, an astronomer and educator, said he and his peers had attempted to get a glimpse of the celestial object last week, but could not find it due to the low latitude position of the city.
“Hyderabad is at 18degree latitude which poses a challenge. This means that the comet is closer to the horizon and not high in the sky. This, combined with scattered clouds and the concrete jungle limiting the horizon, makes finding it harder from within the city,” he said. The best way to get a good view is to drive down to a remote location, preferably at a higher altitude, he added.
Dr B.G. Sidharth, director, BM Birla Science Centre, said, “the comet can most likely be seen next week around July 22 and 23 after sunset for a brief window of about 20 minutes. The most suitable time is from 7 pm to 7.30 pm. One must face the northwestern sky to catch the comet.”
With the naked eye, the comet, under clear skies and without light pollution from a location where the view of the horizon is unobstructed, is expected to appear as a fuzzy star-like object below the ‘pan’ formed by four stars of the easily identifiable Big Dipper, or Ursa Major, constellation. A pair of binoculars can present a clearer view and the comet’s tail too can be seen if the sky is clear. Though the local astronomical community had planned to hold several programmes at the Birla Planetarium or Osmania University’s astronomy department for viewing the comet, they have been cancelled in view of the Coronavirus spread.