A comet was caught on camera as it passed through the sky above the Mersey last night.
The pictures captured the moment that Comet Neowise, the best visible comet in the UK for more than twenty years, was caught above the New Brighton skyline.
The comet can be seen burning brightly over New Brighton Lighthouse in a series of beautiful shots.
These stunning photos of the comet were taken by local photographer Kevin Hughes.
The Comet Neowise, officially known as C/2020 F3, can be seen from earth once you’ve pinpointed it using a set of binoculars or a telescope.
It will be the best comet visible from the UK in more than two decades, according to some astronomers, so it’s a rare chance to spot an astrological phenomenon from your garden.
(Image: Kevin Hughes)
Neowise was discovered on March 27, 2020, by the NASA space telescope called Near Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (or NEOWISE for short), hence its name.
The comet will come closest to Earth on July 23 – though it will still be about 64 million miles (103 million km) away.
Each night it will be a little further to the left. As it is close to the horizon, you’ll need a view that isn’t obscured by buildings or trees.
(Image: Kevin Hughes)
From the middle of July onwards, the comet will be visible all through the night, but always low in the sky.
By July 25, the comet will appear 30 degrees up from the west-northwest horizon as darkness falls.
“Comet C/2020 F3 (Neowise) was discovered in late March and brightened as it reached its closest approach to the Sun, inside the orbit of Mercury, late last week.
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“The interplanetary iceberg survived solar heating, so far, and is now becoming closer to the Earth as it starts its long trek back to the outer Solar System.
“As Comet Neowise became one of the few naked-eye comets of the 21st Century, word spread quickly, and the comet has already been photographed behind many famous sites and cities around the globe.”
And on July 30-31, the comet will be passing just to the north of the fine star cluster of Coma Berenices or Berenice’s Hair.
NASA said: “A comet has suddenly become visible to the unaided eye.”
