NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has captured unique images of comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) and its two tails.
This image from the WISPR instrument on board NASA’s Parker Solar Probe shows comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) on July 5, 2020, shortly after its closest approach to the Sun. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins APL / Naval Research Lab / Parker Solar Probe / Brendan Gallagher.
C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) was discovered on March 27, 2020 by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) mission.
The comet’s nucleus is about 5 km (3 miles) across and is covered with sooty, dark particles.
C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) made its close approach to the Sun on July 3, 2020, and will cross outside Earth’s orbit on its way back to the outer parts of the Solar System by mid-August.
The comet will pass by Earth at a distance of 103 million km (64 million miles).
“Parker Solar Probe collected science data through June 28 for its fifth solar flyby, but the availability of additional downlink time allowed us to take extra images,” Parker Solar Probe team members said.
C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) path across sky, stereographic projection. Image credit: Tom Ruen / CC BY-SA 4.0.
The new images show that C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) has at least two tails.
The upper tail is the ion tail, which is made up of gases that have been ionized by losing electrons in the Sun’s intense light.
These ionized gases are buffeted by the solar wind — the Sun’s constant outflow of magnetized material — creating the ion tail that extends directly away from the Sun.
The lower tail, which appears broad and fuzzy, is the dust tail of C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE).
It is created when dust lifts off the surface of the comet’s nucleus and trails behind the comet in its orbit.
“Parker Solar Probe’s images appear to show a divide in the ion tail,” the researchers said.
“This could mean that C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) has two ion tails, in addition to its dust tail, though we would need more data and analysis to confirm this possibility.”
