NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were treated to a rare phenomenon when they witnessed the recently discovered Comet NEOWISE pass by Earth at extremely close range on July 5.
The entire encounter was captured in hundreds of photographs and made into a video for everyone to enjoy.
‘An awesome sight to be able to see,’ is how NASA astronaut Bob Behnken described the encounter as During an interview with The New York Times’ The Daily podcast.
‘Right before the Sun came up, that comet [NEOWISE] became visible during that short period of time when it was still close to the Sun, but the Sun was still hidden by the Earth. It was just an awesome sight to be able to see.’
Comet NEOWISE is visible to skywatchers during the month of July — but what are the best times to catch a glimpse and where should you look? Get the details: https://t.co/fQ7NraGezz pic.twitter.com/YqQIMiUU8C
— NASA (@NASA) July 15, 2020
Fortunately, you don’t need to be floating above the earth’s atmosphere to see this unique event. A UK-based graphic artist named Seán Doran, who regularly processes space-agency imagery, managed to download the many photographs taken of the comet and edited them into a video.
Take a look:
Image credit: Twitter/@ForbesScience
