CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Over the past week, we had some amazing views of a new comet in the mornings. Now we will get some chances to view C/2020 F3 NEOWISE, more commonly known as Comet Neowise, in the evenings around the Carolinas but there are a few things to remember.
The comet got its name from the instrument that discovered it called the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and renamed NEOWISE in 2013 by NASA.
The comet has been visible in the morning about an hour before sunrise in the northeast sky. This week until next week the morning viewing goes away and evening viewing becomes possible. Starting tonight and over the next few nights 1 hour after sunset in the northwest sky, we can see the comet very low on the horizon. The key is to get a good view of the horizon away from trees and buildings and also to let your eye adjust. You may need binoculars or a camera to really see it. Most of the pictures you have seen on-line are done with cameras with a long exposure so don’t expect to see it so bright.
The other problem we might have is clouds and looking low on the horizon you are looking through a lot of the atmosphere. So it may not be easy to see. Also, we do expect over time the comet will be getting dimmer.
Since the viewing is not as early it’s completely worth trying to get a glimpse of this comet.
If you manage to snap any photos or videos of Comet Neowise, we'd love to see them here at WCNC Charlotte. You can upload them to our newsroom by using the WCNC Charlotte news app.
