These remarkable pictures show comet Neowise streaking across the night sky in Nottinghamshire as it passes by Earth more than 64 million miles away.
Comet C/2020 F3 was only recently discovered on March 27 this year by NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer - or Neowise - owing to the comet's name.
Ashley Irons managed to capture these pictures from his back garden in Balderton, Newark, on the night of Saturday, July 11.
He told Nottinghamshire Live: "I shot them with a 8-inch telescope and a Huawei P30 Pro phone last night at 3am from my back garden.
"I have been interested in Astronomy for the past two years."
The comet is currently heading past Earth in what NASA says is a once in a lifetime journey, getting closer as the month goes on, having just passed by the sun.
Its closest pass will occur on July 23, before it heads off into the ether once again.
Neowise potentially has two tails, as spotted by NASA's Parker Solar Probe, only one of which is visible to the naked eye.
The lower tail appears very broad and hazy, and is visible to most who spot it, and this is the dust trail left behind my the object as it moves through space.
The upper tail is the ion tail, which is made up of gases which are then ionised by the losing of electrons in the sun's UV rays.
These gases are then battered by the sun's intense solar winds, creating a tail which extends away from the sun.
Ashley Irons also managed to capture the comet in the sky from Newark alongside another very rare phenomena: noctilucent clouds.
These are clearly visible in the image above as bright blue-white clouds in the night sky, as the comet makes a pass on the right.
The clouds, high up in the atmosphere, consist of ice crystals and occur only at astronomical twilight.
Speaking of how best to spot the fascinating sight, Mr Irons added: "Set your alarm for 2am and go to a dark spot with clear views to the north.
"The the higher the better as the comet is quite low to the horizon. However it will be quite a bit higher by the end of July.
"Most phone cameras are suitable. The main thing is to keep the camera still and, usually, a two second exposure will bring out the comet tail."
To see the comet throughout the rest of the month, stargazers have been advising to look for the Big Dipper - also known as the Plough - which consists of seven bright stars in the sky.
The comet will be to the right, and below the Big Dipper - close to the horizon - from early to mid July then directly below it by July 25.
After that it will continue to move left across the sky each day.
By July 25, the comet will appear 30 degrees up from the west-northwest horizon as darkness falls.
On July 30-31, the comet will be passing just to the north of the fine star cluster of Coma Berenices or Berenice's Hair.
NASA said: "A comet has suddenly become visible to the unaided eye. Comet C/2020 F3 (Neowise) was discovered in late March and brightened as it reached its closest approach to the Sun, inside the orbit of Mercury, late last week.
"The interplanetary iceberg survived solar heating, so far, and is now becoming closer to the Earth as it starts its long trek back to the outer Solar System.
"As Comet Neowise became one of the few naked-eye comets of the 21st Century, word spread quickly, and the comet has already been photographed behind many famous sites and cities around the globe."
