Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE and the lake – 22 July 2020.
While slowly fading, we could admire comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE again, this time framed by the wonderful scenario of lake Bracciano, North of Rome. The comet was not alone: a sharp Moon crescent, the International Space Station and the Cosmos 1892 satellite joined the show.
Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE at sunset, above the lake Bracciano, Italy, with a very young Moon and the International Space Station crossing the field of view, as well as satellite Cosmos 1892 – 22 July 2020.
Having a bright comet in the sky is not common, so I wanted to exploit any opportunity to capture such a rare and beautiful cosmic visitor, as comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE, together with the terrestrial panorama. After admiring it from Rome, this time I selected a natural scenario: the lake Bracciano, about 20 km North of Rome.
It was a great location, being relatively free from light pollution and offering an almost perfect view to the North-West horizon, where the comet was going to show soon after sunset. While planning this session, I knew that the International Space Station (ISS) was going to show not far from the comet that evening, with a very young Moon with its Earth-shine joining the meeting: what else?
I used both my Canon 5DmIV DSLR bodies and several lenses, but I found the 24mm one to be the right choice to get out the most from the location.
The image above shows comet NEOWISE against a still moderately bright sky, with plenty of stars and the International Space Station on the bottom right. On the bottom left we see the sharp Moon crescent, while on the top pf the image there is the trail of Cosmos 1892 satellite. All this above the peaceful panorama of the lake.
Later, under a darker sky, I captured the comet again, this time with a completely different atmosphere; this time, I also captured the ion, rectilinear tail. By the way, the comet was still visible to the naked eye.
Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE at the beginning of the night, above the lake Bracciano, Italy – 22 July 2020.
Once again, the experience was memorable. We must be very grateful to comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE for this opportunity and for reminding us of the speechless beauty of the night sky.
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