Stargazers and early risers in the northern hemisphere have been treated to spectacular and incredibly rare views of passing Comet Neowise, as it leaves a bright trail in the early morning sky.
The comet, officially called C/2020 F3, is making a once-in-many-lifetimes appearance, as it won't pass Earth again for another 6,800 years, according to the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA).
Astronomers predict the comet will remain visible to the naked eye until July 16, assuming the comet holds together and doesn't disintegrate.
Neowise will be visible from Australia and the southern hemisphere from July 27.
NASA released an image of Neowise photographed from the International Space Station on July 5, showing the comet trailing spectacularly above Earth's atmosphere.
"This very close passage by the sun is cooking the comet's outermost layers, causing gas and dust to erupt off the icy surface and creating a large tail of debris," NASA said last week.
"And yet the comet has managed to survive this intense roasting."
Neowise was named after an imaging project from the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) that uses an infrared satellite called WISE to detect heat signatures from objects that orbit the sun.
IDA says the last comet that was easily visible to the naked eye was Lovejoy, in 2011, and before that was Hale-Bopp — considered the last of the "great comets" — which appeared brightly to northern hemisphere observers in 1997.
Viewers in the northern hemisphere have been advised to look out for Neowise an hour before sunrise.
The comet will be at its closest to Earth on July 23, but will likely only be visible via telescope or binoculars.
