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(CNN)A newly-discovered comet dubbed NEOWISE will be visible this week to the naked eye. It's the first visible comet of 2020.
The comet, officially known as C/2020 F3, was spotted by NASA's NEOWISE satellite in March, as it made its initial approach to the sun. It survived its loop around the sun and will be reaching the point in its orbit where it is closest to Earth in the next week. NEOWISE is expected to remain visible to the naked eye through July.
Those in the northern hemisphere can catch this comet in the north sky for most of the month at early dawn and dusk. Comets often appear faint in the sky, so it is easiest to catch a glimpse in the early morning and evening, when there is just enough sunlight to see them against the night sky, but not so much they are washed out.
"For the northern hemisphere, it's very low to the horizon in the early morning," says Karl Battams, an astrophysicist with the Naval Research Laboratory. "People need to get up early, but it's easily visible with binoculars."
The comet, officially known as C/2020 F3, was spotted by NASA's NEOWISE satellite in March, as it made its initial approach to the sun. It survived its loop around the sun and will be reaching the point in its orbit where it is closest to Earth in the next week. NEOWISE is expected to remain visible to the naked eye through July.
Those in the northern hemisphere can catch this comet in the north sky for most of the month at early dawn and dusk. Comets often appear faint in the sky, so it is easiest to catch a glimpse in the early morning and evening, when there is just enough sunlight to see them against the night sky, but not so much they are washed out.
"For the northern hemisphere, it's very low to the horizon in the early morning," says Karl Battams, an astrophysicist with the Naval Research Laboratory. "People need to get up early, but it's easily visible with binoculars."
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