CALGARY -- If you've been waiting to catch a glimpse of the comet NEOWISE, Thursday night may be your last chance before it disappears for 6,000 years
Thursday night the comet will be at its closest to earth, 63 million miles away.
For the best view of the comet, CTV Calgary meteorologist Kevin Stanfield suggests heading southeast out of the city to avoid potential cloud cover. From there, the comet will be visible to the northwest over the mountains. The best time to view the comet is around 10:30 PM to 11 PM, when the sky is the darkest.
NEOWISE has been visible to the naked eye for just over a week, but will continuously lose brightness as its elliptical orbit pulls it further from the sun.
Local photographer Neil Zeller said being able to shoot the comet was more fun and rewarding than he had imagined.
"To think this comet comes by only every few thousand years makes it truly a once-in-a-lifetime event," Zeller said, "It's a very rewarding experience."
While the comet is visible to the naked eye, Zeller says seeing it through binoculars or a camera greatly enhances the sighting, "Once you spot the comet below the big dipper, you'll never not see it."
NEOWISE is the first comet visible to the naked eye in the northern hemisphere in more than 10 years.
According to NASA, NEOWISE was formed near the beginning of the solar system, 4.6 billion years ago. The rocky and icy fireball is five kilometers in diameter, and leaves a trail of burned up gasses and debris as it passes through.
Two other comets were anticipated to orbit near earth earlier this year, but broke up as they neared the sun.
