A naked eye comet can be seen in the sky since the beginning of the month. First observed by the NEOWISE space telescope (and hence named after it) on 27/3/2020, it blossomed in brightness on nearing the Sun and became visible to unaided human eyes in July.

I’ve not observed it myself. It’s been too cloudy when I remembered to look but the photographs have been great – especially the ones with Stonehenge in the foreground.

(Pictures from BBC news website.)

NEOWISE over Stonehenge:-

This is a time-lapse video from You Tube of NEOWISE rising over the Adriatic Sea.

From You Tube via Astronomy Picture of the Day for 15/3/20. A scene constructed from 33 consecutive still images captured by the Rosetta spacecraft‘s camera over 25 minutes.

It’s not snow but dust and ice particles drifting near the comet’s surface. The brighter specks are most likely cosmic rays though. From the camera’s perspective background stars are moving from top to bottom.