How to See Comet NEOWISE Over Michigan This Weekend
The once in a lifetime comet comes only once every seven millennia according to local expert Michael Norlock.
We might not be able to gather for events or concerts right now, but there’s a show going on in the night sky over Michigan this weekend that we can all enjoy.
The comet NEOWISE will be visible in night skies for the next several days. After that, the next opportunity to see it won’t be for another 6,800 years. NEOWISE was discovered in March and named for the space telescope that discovered it.
According NASA, it will be closet to Earth on July 23 and will be visible until August.
“It will definitely be in the top five comets in my lifetime that we’ve had an opportunity to see.” – Michael Narlock, Cranbrook Institute of Science
Listen: Cranbrook Planetarium Director Michael Narlock on how to get the best view of the comet.
Guest
Michael Narlock is the planetarium director and head of astronomy and exhibits at the Cranbrook Institute of Science.
According to Narlock, scientists think that the NEOWISE comet came from a part of our solar system called the Oort Cloud, a large area surrounding the planets with countless chunks of rocks and ice where most comets are developed. “We’re looking at a chunk of our solar system from back when it formed,” says Narlock.
Narlock compares NEOWISE to comet Hale-Bopp, which dazzled nighttime spectators for 18 months in the late 1990s.“It’s one of the great things that sort of ties us all together, seeing something in the nighttime sky,” says Narlock. “Though we can’t all be together, we can certainly look up at the same sky and have a shared experience.”
Narlock’s Tips for Viewing Neowise:
- Wait until an hour after sunset (around 10 p.m.)
- Choose a viewing spot on flat land, away from urban light pollution
- Look to the Northwest, above the horizon and below the Big Dipper (try holding out your arm to the right of the Big Dipper to help guide your line of sight)
- Don’t look directly at it! Look at it out of the corner of your eye — as your eyes get adjusted, you should be able to see a little sliver of light
- With a small pair of binoculars aimed in that direction, two bright comet tails coming of NEOWISE should be visible
This post was written by Detroit Today student producer Lauryn Azu.
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