Comet NEOWISE below the Big Dipper.
July 20, 2020 - Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) in a tracked close-up showing the straight blue ion tail and the curving whitish-yellow dust tail. Even the ion tail was visible in binoculars and traceable out for 12 degrees or so, or two 10x binocular fields. Here, it extends up into and beyond the Bowl of the Big Dipper, a distance of 20 degrees. The curving dust tail extends about 15 degrees. A bit of cyan colour is visible around the head of the comet. The bright galaxies M81 and M82, very tiny here, are at upper right. The two pairs of stars either side of the comet head are Tania (left) and Talitha (right), in pairs with the two stars each labeled Borealis and Australis. They form the feet of Ursa Major, but are also part of the asterism known as the Three Leaps of the Gazelle along with another pair to the west off frame at left.
Size: 5845px × 4484px
Location: Alberta, Canada
Photo credit: © Alan Dyer/Stocktrek Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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