Comet NEOWISE over Vikos Gorge

By Thanos Voudouris

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See also: Comet NEOWISE over Meteora | NASA Picture of the day


This amazing shot by Constantine Emmanouilidi was NASA Picture of The Day on August 3, 2020.

Comet NEOWISE, is a retrograde comet with a near-parabolic orbit discovered on March 27, 2020, by astronomers using the NEOWISE space telescope. By July 2020 it was bright enough to be visible to the naked eye.

While the comet was visible over Greece, Constantine Emmanouilidi captured this amazing photo gracing the skies over Vikos Gorge in the Pindus Mountains of northern Greece. See also the comet over Meteora.

In Constantine’s words about this amazing shot as NEOWISE comet was gracing the skies over Meteora:

ExplanationDid the Earth part to show us this comet? Of course not, even if this image makes it seem that way. Pictured far in the background is Comet NEOWISE as it appeared about two weeks ago over northern Greece. Above the comet are many stars including the bright stars of the Big Dipper (also the Sorcerer, in Aztec mythology), an asterism that many people around the world used to find the naked-eye comet as it hovered in the northern sky over the past month. In the foreground is Vikos Gorge, the deepest gorge on Earth, relative to its width. The gorge was slowly created by erosion from the Voidomatis River over the past few million years. Capturing this image took a lot of planning, waiting, luck, braving high winds, and avoiding local wolves. Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) continues to fade and is now best visible through binoculars as it coasts back to the outer Solar System.

Photographer: Constantine Emmanouilidi