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Skygazers across the Northern Hemisphere are being treated to stunning views of Comet Neowise as it streaks past Earth. Amateur astrophotographer Javier Manteca got a bonus: the International Space Station and comet Neowise are both seen transiting Madrid in this photo captured 11 July.
Taken at dawn, the picture is a composition of 17 stacked images exposed every 2.5 seconds to form the skyline.
Comet C/2020 F3 Neowise is named after NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mission that discovered it in March 2020. The comet completed its perihelion, or closest pass of the Sun, on 3 July and is headed back out of our Solar System, not to return for another 6800 years.
The comet’s flyby of Earth is a rare opportunity to observe and collect data on these cosmic time capsules. Many spacecraft have observed the comet, including the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory as well as astronauts on board the International Space Station.
ESA’s comet chaser Rosetta trailed comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko for two years before landing the Philae probe on its surface. The mission amassed a wealth of data that will be studied for years to come.
As Comet Neowise zooms past Earth at a comfortable (and safe) distance of 103 million kilometres, stargazers can catch more views of the comet through July. Consult Earth and Sky or Astronomy Now for times and positions.
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Source: ESA Space News