All about Comet C/2020 F3 Neowise
                     ALL ABOUT COMET 
C/2020 F3 NEOWISE
           
         What is Comet C/2020 F3?
• Comet C/2020 F3 will make its closest approach to the 
Earth at a distance of 64 million miles or 103 million 
kilometres.
• It will be crossing Earth’s outside orbit on 22nd July 
2020.
Image source: India today
           
        How it can be seen?
• It is also known as NEOWISE after the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that 
discovered it.
• It will be visible through binoculars or a small telescope.
Image source: Republic World
           Why in news?
• On 3rd July, it was closest to the sun at 43 million km due 
to which its outer layer was released, creating an 
atmosphere of gas and dust from its icy surface.
Image source: India today
           Visibility
• Comets do not have the light of their own and the 
visibility depends on its gas and dust outbursts.
• Humans see the reflection of the sun’s light off the 
comet as well as the energy released by the gas 
molecules after it is absorbed from the sun.
Image source: Indian Express
           Key Points
• The word comet comes from the Latin 
word ‘Cometa’ which means ‘long-haired’.
• The earliest known record of a comet sighting was made 
by an astrologer in 1059 BC.
Image source: Comet watch
           Key Points
• Comets or ‘dirty snowballs’ are mostly made of dust, 
rocks and ice and can range in their width from a few 
miles to tens of miles wide.
• When they orbit closer to the sun, like C/2020 F3, 
they heat up and release debris of dust and gases.
Image source: Medium.com
           Key Points
• When near the sun, the icy cometary surfaces 
vaporize and throw off large quantities of gas and dust.
•  Thus forming the enormous atmosphere and tails.
Image source: Telescope House
           Key Points
• Each time a comet passes the sun, it loses some of its 
material and  eventually disappear completely as a 
result.
• Comets may be occasionally pushed into orbits closer to 
the Sun and the Earth’s neighbourhood due to forces of 
gravity.
Image source: Forbes
           Key Points
• According to NASA, there are millions of comets orbiting 
the sun,  more than 3,650 known comets as of now.
• The predictable comets are the short-period 
comets which take less than 200 years to orbit around 
the sun.
Image source: India today
           Key Points
• These can be found in the Kuiper belt, where many 
comets orbit the sun in the realm of Pluto.
• One of the most famous short-period comets is 
called Halley’s Comet that reappears every 76 
years. Halley’s will be sighted next in 2062.
Image source: Youtube