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Your chance to see a comet in person

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Posted at 7:21 PM, Jul 15, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-15 19:21:12-04

You may have heard some buzz recently about a comet that some have been lucky enough to spot with their own eyes. Last week, we talked about the chances of seeing the comet in Central Indiana. The only problem was you had to be a real early riser to catch a glimpse of the comet named NEOWISE. If you’re more of a night owl, there's good news for the rest of this week! You just might be able to spot the comet without losing much sleep!

The graphic below spells out your best chances of seeing Comet NEOWISE in the sky above Central Indiana. Generally, the best viewing window begins a little after 11pm and lasts for about an hour and a half to almost two hours. While the comet will be flying through the sky tonight, clouds and increasing storm chances could thwart your efforts. Thursday and Friday nights are likely to provide better viewing weather with fewer clouds.

When you do go outside to spot the comet, it’s best to get away from city lights and into as dark of a sky as possible. You’ll also want to put your phone down. Each time you look at your screen means more time your eyes need to adjust to see in the night sky. As far as the direction to look, you’ll want to point yourself toward the NW and look fairly low on the horizon. You can use your clenched fist, held at arm's length, to roughly measure 10 degrees.