Comet NEOWISE from Los Angeles on July 11, 2020

• Telescope: N/A
• Mount: Standard camera tripod
• Autoguiding: No
• Optical Configuration: 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens
• Filter: None
• Camera: Canon 60Da
• Light Frames: Single frame
• Calibration: N/A
• Exposure Time: 8s
• ISO: 800
• Pre-Processing: None
• Processing: Photoshop CC
• Imaging Location: Los Angeles, Calif.

Not since Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997 has a really bright comet graced our northern skies. That has all changed with the latest interloper to our neck of the solar system. Comet C/2020 F3, as it is known to astronomers, was discovered on March 27 by the NEOWISE space telescope. By tradition, comets are named after their discoverers, so this one is known to the rest of us as Comet NEOWISE.

As Comet NEOWISE approached the Sun, its orbital period was calculated to be about 4,500 years. But its encounter with the Sun’s massive gravitational field has now boosted its speed and increased its orbital period to about 6,700 years.

This photograph was shot from my back yard about an hour before sunrise at 4:49 a.m. on the morning of July 11. The comet is fading now as it moves away from the Sun, but it will always be remembered for brightening up an otherwise difficult year.

[This one’s for Phil and for all the great moments we shared. Like comets, memories may fade with time, but you, my friend, will always be remembered.]