Galileo's Camera

Comet NEOWISE became a pretty popular name among stargazers as well as non-stargazers in 2020. One of the main reasons why it was so popular was that it was one of the brightest comets in about 13 years (since the comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) - which was a daylight comet as well).  Unlike for example the 9 comets that turned up in 2019 or the 19 that turned up in 2018 - which clearly not many knew about, NEOWISE was a naked eye comet.

The year 2015 kicked off with a new comet incoming. Comet C/2014 Q2 is still on its approach towards the sun and is expected to be closest to the sun on 30th Jan. Right now it is just inside the constellation Eridanus Just below Orion. Cutting the mumbo-jumbo out: The details of the comet can be described well using the standard astronomy related terminology, but that may not mean much to non-astronomers. I thought I might as well put down a basic Q&A in as least technical words as possible :) 1. Is it visible yet? Is it visible in Sri Lanka Yes it is. But... It is just below the constellation Orion. Orion is one of the most recognised constellations in the sky but in case you are not too sure about it, here's how it looks.   The comet is below the constellation Orion, but it is very faint right now. According to what we know right now, if the sky is very clear and if you are looking at it from a place where absolutely no light pollution, you could see it with naked...