NEOWISE mission spies one comet, maybe two

NASA’s NEOWISE mission has recently discovered some celestial objects traveling through our neighborhood, including one on the blurry line between asteroid and comet. Another—definitely a comet—might be seen with binoculars through next week.

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Tau.Neutrino said:

NEOWISE mission spies one comet, maybe two

NASA’s NEOWISE mission has recently discovered some celestial objects traveling through our neighborhood, including one on the blurry line between asteroid and comet. Another—definitely a comet—might be seen with binoculars through next week.

More…

I thought NEOWISE was switched off after a bit less than two years of operation when it ran out of coolant.

mollwollfumble said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

NEOWISE mission spies one comet, maybe two

NASA’s NEOWISE mission has recently discovered some celestial objects traveling through our neighborhood, including one on the blurry line between asteroid and comet. Another—definitely a comet—might be seen with binoculars through next week.

More…

I thought NEOWISE was switched off after a bit less than two years of operation when it ran out of coolant.

Yes, NEOWISE was switched off in Feb 2011.

What I didn’t know is that NEOWISE was switched back on Dec 2013.

“As of mid-December 2016, NEOWISE has completed its sixth coverage of the entire sky since the start of the Reactivation mission.”

The orientation allows exactly two all-sky views per year.