A new comet is now visible with thenaked eye

A newly-discovered comet dubbed NEOWISEwill be visible this week to the naked eye. It's the first visible comet of2020.

The comet, officially known as C/2020 F3,was spotted by NASA's NEOWISE satellite in March, as it made its initialapproach to the sun. It survived its loop around the sun and will be reachingthe point in its orbit where it is closest to Earth in the next week. NEOWISEis expected to remain visible to the naked eye through July.

Those in the northern hemisphere can catchthis 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 inthe early morning and evening, when there is just enough sunlight to see themagainst the night sky, but not so much they are washed out.

"For the northern hemisphere, it'svery low to the horizon in the early morning," says Karl Battams, anastrophysicist with the Naval Research Laboratory. "People need to get upearly, but it's easily visible with binoculars."

The comet got a special shout-out over theweekend from Bob Behnken, a NASA astronaut currently aboard the InternationalSpace Station after participating in the first launch of SpaceX Dragon Crew inMay.

ISS astronaut Ivan Vagner also tweetedabout the comet, noting its large, visible tail. The tail on NEOWISE couldindicate that it is strong enough to remain intact in orbit.

People on Earth have also started seeingthe comet on the horizon, says NASA. With its Astronomy Picture of the Dayprogram, NASA invites anyone -- amateur to professional astronomers -- tosubmit their own photos of cosmic events here.

Part of the NEOWISEsatellite operations is to help researchers distinguish between near-earthobjects with dangerous orbits (potentially hazardous asteroids, or PHAs), andthose that are not a threat, according to NASA. Its infrared lens allows it tosee comets particularly well, as they are commonly darker objects in the nightsky, says Battams.

NASA's NEOWISE satellite launched first in2009 as WISE. It's relaunch in 2013 as NEOWISE brought with it a new mission:"to assist NASA's efforts to identify and characterize the population ofnear-Earth objects," says NASA.

"NEOWISE is a really crucial satellitefor nearer or potentially hazardous asteroids," says Battams. "It's areally important satellite to have."

During its tenure, NEOWISE has discoveredhundreds of thousands of near-Earth objects, or NEOs. Data collected by NEOWISEis critical in mapping solar bodies and analyzing the trajectory of spaceobjects, including this new comet.

发现一颗肉眼可见的新彗星

本周，一颗名为NEOWISE的新发现的彗星将肉眼可见。这是2020年第一颗可见的彗星。

这颗彗星，正式称为C/2020F3，在3月份被美国宇航局的NEOWISE卫星发现，因为它最初轨迹是接近太阳。它在环太阳带幸存下来，并将沿其轨道在下周接近地球最近点。预计7月间，NEOWISE将保持肉眼可见。

北半球的人可以在凌晨和黄昏时分在北半球的半个月里捕捉到这颗彗星。彗星在天空中通常显得微弱，当有足够的光线时可以在夜空中看到，但如果光线太强却又难以显现，所以在清晨和傍晚最容易瞥见。

海军研究实验室的天体物理学家卡尔·巴塔姆斯说："对于北半球来说，清晨的地平线很低。人们需要早起，但用望远镜很容易看出。"

这颗彗星上周末得到了美国宇航局宇航员鲍勃·贝恩肯的特别关注，他今年5月参与了"太空X龙"号机组的首次发射，目前正在国际空间站上。

国际空间站宇航员伊万·瓦格纳也在推特上发布了这颗彗星，指出这颗彗星的尾巴大而可见。NEOWISE的尾部可能表明它足够坚固，可以在轨道上保持完好无损。

美国宇航局说，地球上的人们也开始在地平线上观看这颗彗星。美国宇航局通过每日天文图片计划，邀请任何人——业余爱好者——专业天文学家——提交他们自己拍摄的宇宙事件照片。

据美国宇航局称，NEOWISE卫星的一部分操作是帮助研究人员区分具有危险轨道的近地天体（潜在危险的小行星或PHA）和那些没有威胁的天体。巴塔姆斯说，它的红外透镜可以特别清晰地看到彗星，因为它们通常是夜空中较暗的物体。

美国宇航局的NEOWISE卫星于2009年首次以WISE号发射。它于2013年重新推出，因为NEOWISE带来了一个新的任务："协助美国宇航局努力识别和测绘近地天体的数量，"美国宇航局说。

"NEOWISE对于接近或具有潜在危险的小行星来说是一颗非常关键的卫星"巴塔姆斯说。"这是一个非常重要的卫星。"

在其执行任务期间，NEOWISE卫星发现了数十万个近地天体，即NEOs。NEOWISE收集的数据对于绘制太阳天体图和分析空间物体（包括这颗新彗星）的轨迹至关重要。