How to Catch Comet NEOWISE Before It's Gone
A naked-eye comet is in our morning sky right now, and it won't be back for about 6,800 years — here's how to see it.
If you’ve been putting off getting up early to look at a comet, stop putting it off. Comet NEOWISE is visible right now with the naked eye, low on the northeast horizon before dawn, and it is genuinely one of those “drop what you’re doing” astronomical events.
Here’s the deal: this comet is named for the spacecraft that found it, NASA’s NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer), which spotted it back in March. Comets are notoriously unreliable — plenty of hyped ones fizzle out as they approach the sun, breaking apart or just failing to get bright enough to see without a telescope. NEOWISE didn’t fizzle. It survived its close pass by the sun and is putting on a real show.
What you’re actually looking for
Right now, in early-to-mid July, the best viewing window is in the pre-dawn hours, low over the northeast horizon. You’ll want a clear view down to the horizon — no buildings, no trees, no hills blocking that part of the sky — and ideally a spot away from city lights. Binoculars help a lot, but plenty of people are spotting it with the naked eye once their eyes adjust to the dark.
The comet is doing something interesting over the next couple of weeks: it’s shifting from a morning object to an evening one. By mid-July, instead of hauling yourself out of bed before sunrise, you should be able to catch it in the evening sky after sunset, which is a much more civilized way to comet-watch.
Why it looks the way it does
Through binoculars or a decent camera, NEOWISE shows two distinct tails, which is part of what makes it such a good photography target. There’s a blue ion tail, made of gas that’s been ionized by the sun and pushed straight back by the solar wind, and a golden dust tail, made of larger particles that fan out along the comet’s orbital path and catch sunlight in a way that gives it that warm color. Seeing both tails clearly separated is a nice treat — a lot of comets don’t put on this clean a display.
Why the urgency
This isn’t a “catch it next year” situation. NEOWISE is on a long, looping orbit that won’t bring it back anywhere near Earth for roughly 6,800 years. Whatever you see this month is, practically speaking, a once-in-several-lifetimes view. No pressure, but also — some pressure.
If you’ve got even a pair of basic binoculars and a clear northeastern horizon before sunrise, this week is worth the lost sleep. Bring a camera too; even a phone on a steady surface with a long exposure can pick up the tails once your eyes have found the comet.