C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)

C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) or Comet NEOWISE is a retrograde

comet with a near-parabolic orbit discovered on March 27, 2020, by C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)
astronomers using the NEOWISE space telescope. At that time, it
was a 10th-magnitude comet, located 2 AU (300 million km;
190 million mi) away from the Sun and 1.7 AU (250 million km;
160 million mi) away from Earth.[3]

By July 2020, it was bright enough to be visible to the naked eye. It

is one of the brightest visible to observers in the northern
hemisphere since Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997. Under dark skies, it
can be clearly seen with the naked eye[4] and might remain visible to C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)
photographed from France on July
the naked eye throughout most of July 2020.[3] 13, 2020

For observers in the northern hemisphere, in the morning, the comet Discovery
appears low above the north-eastern horizon, below Capella. In the Discovered by NEOWISE
evening, the comet can be seen low in the north-western sky. The Discovery date March 27,
comet can be seen in the morning and evening because it is
2020[1]
circumpolar from about latitude 45N. In the second half of July
2020, Comet NEOWISE will enter the constellation of Ursa Major Orbital characteristics A (https://ssd.
on July 17, below the asterism of the Big Dipper (The Plough).[5] jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2020F3)

The comet is currently about magnitude 2.[6] Epoch 2458953.5 (April

14, 2020)
Observation arc 70 days
Contents Number of 353
observations
History and observations
Orbit type Long period
Trajectory
comet
Gallery Aphelion 544 AU
References (inbound)
External links 720 AU
(outbound)
Perihelion 0.29478 AU
History and observations Semi-major axis 272 AU
(inbound)
The object was discovered by a team using the NEOWISE space
360 AU
telescope on March 27, 2020.[1] It was classified as a comet on
March 31 and named after NEOWISE on April 1.[7] It has the (outbound)
systematic designation C/2020 F3, indicating a non-periodic comet Eccentricity 0.99921
which was the third discovered in the second half of March 2020. Orbital period ~4500 yrs
Comet NEOWISE made its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) (inbound)[2]
on July 3, 2020, at a distance of 0.29 AU (43 million km; ~6800 yrs
27 million mi). This passage increases the comet's orbital period (outbound)
from about 4500 years to about 6800 years.[2] Its closest approach to Inclination 128.93°
 Earth will occur on July 23, Node 61.01°
2020, 01:14 UT, at a distance Argument of 37.28°
of 0.69 AU (103 million km; periapsis
64 million mi) while located TJupiter −0.408
in the constellation of Ursa
Earth MOID 0.36 AU
Major.[8]
(54 million km;
Seen from Earth, the comet 140 LD)
was less than 20 degrees Jupiter MOID 0.81 AU
from the Sun between
Discovery image. The comet (121 million km)
June 11 and July 9, 2020. By
appears as three fuzzy red dots in
June 10, 2020, as the comet Dimensions ~5 km[1]
this composite of three infrared
images taken by NEOWISE on
was being lost to the glare of Last perihelion July 3, 2020
March 27, 2020. the Sun, it was apparent
magnitude 7, when it was 0.7 AU (100 million km; 65 million mi)
away from Sun and 1.6 AU (240 million km; 150 million mi) away
[6]
from Earth. When the comet entered the field of view of the SOHO spacecraft's LASCO C3 instrument on
June 22, 2020, the comet had brightened to about magnitude 3, when it was 0.4 AU (60 million km;
37 million mi) away from Sun and 1.4 AU (210 million km; 130 million mi) away from Earth.[6]

By early July, Comet NEOWISE had brightened to magnitude −1,[9][10] far exceeding the brightness
attained by C/2020 F8 (SWAN), and had developed a second tail. The first tail is blue and made of gas and
ions;. There is also a red separation in the tail caused by high amounts of sodium. The second tail is a golden
color and is made of dust, like the tail of Comet Hale–Bopp. This combination resembles comet C/2011 L4
(PANSTARRS). The comet is brighter than C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS), but not as bright as Hale–Bopp was
in 1997. According to the British Astronomical Association, the comet brightened from a magnitude of
about 8 at the beginning of June to −2 in early July.[11] This would make it brighter than Hale–Bopp.
However, as it was very near to the Sun, it was reported as 0 or +1 magnitude and remained that bright for
only a few days. After perihelion, the comet began to fade at about the same rate as it had previously
brightened.

On July 13, 2020, a sodium tail was confirmed by the Planetary Science Institute's Input/Output facility.[12]
Sodium tails have only been observed in very bright comets like Hale–Bopp and sungrazer C/2012 S1
(ISON).

From the infrared signature Joseph Masiero estimates the diameter of the comet nucleus to be approximately
5 km (3 mi).[1] The nucleus is similar in size to many short-period comets such as 2P/Encke, 7P/Pons-
Winnecke, 8P/Tuttle, 14P/Wolf, and 19P/Borrelly.[13] By July 5, NASA's Parker Solar Probe had captured
an image of the comet, from which astronomers also estimated the diameter of the comet nucleus at
approximately 5 km.[14]

Trajectory
Diagram of the comet's nearly Comet position in the sky. The
parabolic orbit retrograde loops are caused by
parallax from Earth's annual
motion around the Sun; the
most movement occurs when
the comet is closest to Earth

Gallery

July 7, 2020, Golden Gate July 8, 2020 from Zuzici, Istria,

Bridge, California, United Croatia
States

Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) July 7,

on July 9, over Split, Croatia near Sursee, Central
Switzerland

C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) moving
west across a few stars. Nine
15 second exposures taken
over ~5 minutes starting at 4:23
am EDT on July 10, 2020 from
Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
FOV: 36.5' × 36.5'
C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)
photographed on July 9, 2020,
through a 11" telescope. The
orientation is incorrect, as the
comet will always point
downward toward the horizon at
night; the image is upside down
because it was photographed
through an astronomical
telescope which presented an
inverted image.
References
1. Mace, Mikayla (July 8, 2020). "Comet NEOWISE Sizzles as It Slides by the Sun, Providing a
Play media
Video rendering of the images
captured by the International
Space Station from its orbit on
July 5, 2020, showing
NEOWISE rising up against
Earth. Set to "Robot Romance"
by London Music Works
Comet C/2020 F3 Neowise's
spectacular trail over Salt Lake
City. Ultraviolet light ionizes the
neutral gas blown off the comet,
and the solar wind carries these
ions straight out from the Sun to
form the ion tail (left tail). The
dust tail on the other hand is
neutral, composed of small dust
particles. Pressure from the
Sun's radiation pushes these
particles away from the comet's
nucleus. These particles
continue to follow the comet's
orbit around the Sun and form a
diffuse, curved tail that typically
appears white or pink from
Earth (right tail). Tuesday, July
14, 4:27 am, 2020
 Treat for Observers" (https://neowise.ipac.caltech.edu/news/neowise20200708/). Infrared
Processing and Analysis Center. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
2. JPL Horizons barycentric solution for epoch 1950 (before entering planetary region)
Goto JPL Horizons (https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi?find_body=1&body_group=sb&sstr=2
020F3)
Ephemeris Type: Orbital Elements
Center: @0 (Solar System Barycenter)
Time Span: 1950-01-01 to 2050-01-01 and Step Size: 100 years
1950-Jan-01 is "PR = 1.63 × 106/365.25 days" = 4462 years
(For long-period comets on multi-thousand year orbits, asymmetric outgassing will affect the
highly sensitive orbital period and eccentricity.)
3. Seiichi Yoshida. "C/2020 F3 ( NEOWISE )" (http://www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/2020F3/2020F
3.html). Retrieved April 4, 2020.
4. "How to see Comet NEOWISE" (https://earthsky.org/space/how-to-see-comet-c2020-f3-neowis
e). EarthSky. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
5. "A Bright New Visitor: How to Spot Comet NEOWISE" (https://skyandtelescope.org/press-relea
ses/new-bright-visitor-comet-neowise/). Sky & Telescope. July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 13,
2020.
6. "Comet Observation database (COBS)" (http://www.cobs.si/). Retrieved May 27, 2020.
"C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) plot" (https://cobs.si/analysis2?col=comet_id&id=1875&plot_type=0)
7. "COMET C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)" (https://minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K20/K20G05.html).
Minor Planet Electronic Circulars. 2020-G05. April 1, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020. "On
behalf of NEOWISE (C51), J. Masiero reported on March 31 UT that this object showed clear
signs of cometary activity."
8. JPL Horizons closest approach to Earth
Goto JPL Horizons (https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi?find_body=1&body_group=sb&sstr=2
020F3)
Ephemeris Type: Observer
Observer Location: 500 (Geocentric)
(Closest approach occurs when deldot flips from negative to positive)
9. "Comet F3 NEOWISE May Perform in July" (https://www.universetoday.com/146455/comet-f3-
neowise-may-perform-in-july/). Universe Today. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
10. "ATel #13853: Morphology and Photometry of Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) from SOHO" (htt
p://www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=13853). Astronomer's Telegram. July 2, 2020.
11. Nick James (July 6, 2020), "Visual observations page" (https://people.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jds/),
Comet Section, British Astronomical Association
12. "NEOWISE: Rare Image of a Comet's Sodium Tail" (https://psi.edu/news/neowisesodiumtail).
Planetary Science Institute. July 13, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
13. "JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine: numbered comets and diameter > 4 (km) and
diameter < 6 (km)" (https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb_query.cgi?obj_group=all;obj_kind=com;obj_n
umbered=num;OBJ_field=0;ORB_field=0;combine_mode=AND;c1_group=OBJ;c1_item=Ap;c1
_op=%3E;c1_value=4;c2_group=OBJ;c2_item=Ap;c2_op=%3C;c2_value=6;table_format=HT
ML;max_rows=50;format_option=comp;c_fields=AcBgBiBjBnBqBsAp;.cgifields=format_optio
n;.cgifields=obj_kind;.cgifields=obj_group;.cgifields=obj_numbered;.cgifields=combine_mode;.
cgifields=ast_orbit_class;.cgifields=table_format;.cgifields=com_orbit_class&query=1&c_sort=
AcA). JPL Solar System Dynamics. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
14. Miloslav Druckmuller; Robert Nemiroff; Jerry Bonnell (July 11, 2020), The Tails of Comet
NEOWISE (https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200711.html), NASA

External links
 C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) (http://www.cometwatch.co.uk/comet-neowise-c-2020-f3/) –
CometWatch
C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) (http://aim-muenster.de/AiM-Project-Group/Some-Impressions/Comet-
C/2020-F3-NEOWISE/) – AiM-Project-Group
C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) (https://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2020/04/new-comet-c2020-f3-neowi
se.html) – Ernesto Guido & Adriano Valvasori
Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) Information & Planetarium (https://theskylive.com/c2020f3-info)
– TheSkyLive
C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh1_wHdUx3Y) on YouTube –
ISS view (video; 7:00; 7 July 2020)
C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvz5fc3bQA8) on YouTube – Tom
Polakis; 300frms/20mins (video; 0:10; 7 July 2020)
C/2020 F3 (https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=1003667#content) at the JPL Small-Body
Database
Close approach (https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=1003667;cad=1#cad) · Discovery (h
ttps://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=1003667#discovery) · Ephemeris (https://ssd.jpl.nasa.
gov/horizons.cgi?find_body=1&body_group=sb&sstr=1003667) · Orbit diagram (https://ssd.
jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=1003667&orb=1#orb) · Orbital elements (https://ssd.jpl.nasa.go
v/sbdb.cgi?sstr=1003667#elem) · Physical parameters (https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?s
str=1003667#phys_par)

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