Comet NEOWISE: "The spectacular visitor to the Solar System," writes Himadri Sekhar Das

When some people forget to look at the night sky, then some astronomical events occur. These create enthusiasm among spectators! Then night sky appears to them as mesmerizing. A spectacular comet NEOWISE is currently dazzling in the evening sky. This comet gets attention not only to Astronomers but also to many spectators. Comet NEOWISE is visible since July 14 of this month and will be visible for the next 15 days. This comet will be spotted just after the sunset towards Northwest sky near Big Dipper [The Big Dipper is a ladle-shaped star pattern that is part of the constellation Ursa Major (‘Saptarshi Mandal’), the Big Bear].

Comet NEOWISE (Officially known as C/2020 F3), was first discovered on March 17, 2020, by the infrared-optimized Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Space Explorer (NEOWISE) spacecraft. Since then, the comet has been spotted by several space telescopes and observatories, astronauts on the International Space Station and, of course, stargazers on Earth. This comet will be the closest to Earth on July 23, 2020.

Comets are cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock and dust that orbit the Sun. When frozen, they are the size of a small town (1 to 10 km in diameter). When a comet’s orbit brings it close to the Sun, it heats up and spews dust and gases into a giant glowing head larger than most planets. Most of the comets are situated far away from Sun in a region called the Oort cloud. Due to the attraction of Sun and some big planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune), comet enters into Solar System. When it approaches the Sun, then the beautiful tail of the comet is visible. Comet does not have its own light. It shines because of sunlight scattered from its surface.

“For photographing the comet, you need a reasonably long exposure in order to capture the comet. An exposure setting of around 5 to 10 seconds is roughly what to expect. For this, you will need to use your lens at its widest, maximum aperture – and then set a relatively high ISO in order to give you the correct exposure. An ISO of between 800 and 3200 is what to expect (the exact setting will depend, amongst other things on the maximum aperture of your lens). A tripod is therefore essential if you want sharp shots”, said Chris George, a professional photographer.

The occasion is considered a lifetime experience for Skygazers as the comet comes back only once every 6800 years, according to the NASA report. So don’t miss the opportunity and enjoy the live evening show.

The author of this article, Himadri Sekhar Das is Assistant Professor, Dept of Physics, Assam University, Silchar