Comet Neowise is approaching Earth

The comet Neowise is seen in the northern sky, about 20 degrees above the horizon, from Alki Beach in West Seattle on Wednesday night.

The comet has been visible recently from the northern hemisphere, even from light-polluted urban areas like Seattle. It now can be spotted to the northwest just below the Big Dipper about an hour after sunset. The US National Weather Service predicts mostly clear skies Friday night over the Puget Sound region after the morning clouds and rain dissipate.

However, some areas along the coast and near the Cascade Mountains might still see lingering cloud coverage Friday night. According to Scientific American, astronomers first discovered the comet in late March, using the Near-Earth Object Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer telescope.

Officially named C/2020 F3, it has been informally dubbed Neowise, after the acronym for the instrument that spotted it. The comet will come closest to Earth ” a mere 64 million miles away ” on July 22.

After this appearance, Neowise isn’t expected to be near Earth again for about 6,800 years. This image was made with a 400mm telephoto lens mounted on a tripod using a 1.3-second exposure, at f8, and ISO 10,000.