Grab your binoculars to see this spectacular comet before it disappears for another 6,000 years
In late March, a comet was discovered in the vicinity of the Sun by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), a NASA asteroid- and comet-hunting space telescope. NEO-is short for Near-Earth Objects - hence it was named NEOWISE. Unlike two other recent comets which promised to be visible from Earth but disintegrated, this one survived its encounter with the Sun and is now visible in the early morning sky in the north. Search Comet NEOWISE finder for its position and, if you’re willing to get up early in the morning and the clouds part, you may well see this long-tailed object low in the sky. Keep away from buildings and trees to stand a better chance.
Some think that comets whizz through the sky. No, they just appear to sit there, pursuing their immense journeys very slowly as seen from Earth. By July 31, the comet will be seen below and to the left of the Plough, it will then start to fade from our view. I took this photo of NEOWISE from Wimborne on July 13 at 3.47am.