Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) was discovered in March 2020 by the NEOWISE mission, an infrared space telescope operated by NASA that is used to track near-Earth objects. It passed closest to the Sun in July 2020 and became bright enough to be seen with the naked eye in the northern sky, with a visible tail, and was the brightest comet seen from the Northern Hemisphere since Hale-Bopp in 1997. Observers around the world photographed it, and it was studied by spacecraft and ground-based telescopes. Its orbit is so long that it will not return to the inner solar system for thousands of years. It was a popular sight during the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before and after
- 11 March 2020The WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic
- 12 March 2020COVID-19 pandemic in Manitoba
- 14 March 20202020 COVID-19 pandemic in the Central African Republic
- 15 March 20202020 COVID-19 pandemic in Akrotiri and Dhekelia
- 27 March 2020Discovery of C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)
- 15 April 2020Discovery of Kepler-1649c
- from 24 May 2020 to 25 March 20212020–2021 Belarusian protests
- 25 May 2020Murder of George Floyd
- 26 May 2020George Floyd protests
More in Universe & space
- 16 February 1948Discovery of Miranda
- 4 March 1979Discovery of Metis
- 24 April 1990Launch of Hubble Space Telescope
- 1998Supernovae show that cosmic expansion is accelerating
- 10 April 2019The first image of a black hole
- 25 December 2021Launch of James Webb Space Telescope
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 21st century.