The comet NEOWISE streaks through the night sky above Heart Mountain north of Cody in the wee hours of July 12. (Greg Wise/Powell Tribune/Wyoming News Exchange)

A rare opportunity to view a comet streaking through the night sky is drawing stargazers across Wyoming out to view its unmistakable trajectory. 

Stargazers such as Greg Wise, a Powell-based photographer and retiree who, with his wife Susan, has been spending the wee hours traveling across northern Wyoming to capture novel views of NEOWISE. In this image of Wise’s, taken around 3:30 a.m. on July 12, the comet paints the sky above Heart Mountain. 

Wise made the image on his Canon 5DSR in a single shot using a 25-second exposure. 

The Wises aren’t the only ones losing sleep to see the show. The appearance of NEOWISE, one of the brightest comets of a generation, has created a stir among scientists and astronomers and prompted people across the Northern Hemisphere to turn their gaze skyward. Discovered on March 27 by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Explorer, the 3-mile-wide ball of ice, dust and gas is putting on a memorable display as it passes Earth at a distance of some 64 million miles.

Its proximity to the sun is cooking the comet’s outermost layers, triggering gas and dust to erupt off the icy surface in a brilliant tail of debris. 

Once it disappears in late July, the comet won’t be seen again for another 6,800 years, according to NASA.  

Support Wyoming photography — donate to WyoFile today

The Wises plan to take full advantage of the opportunity, Greg Wise said. Watching the cosmos is well worth getting up at 1:30 a.m., he said.

“It helps me escape this world, get my mind on something else,” Wise said. “I see the universe and it’s just fascinating to me.” 

You don’t have to get up in the middle of the night to see the comet. Amateurs who want to glimpse NEOWISE themselves should look to the northwest sky after sunset; it will appear below the Big Dipper. 

This story has been updated to correct Greg Wise’s first name. -ED. 

Katie Klingsporn reports on outdoor recreation, public lands, education and general news for WyoFile. She’s been a journalist and editor covering the American West for 20 years. Her freelance work has...

Join the Conversation

1 Comment

WyoFile's goal is to provide readers with information and ideas that foster constructive conversations about the issues and opportunities our communities face. One small piece of how we do that is by offering a space below each story for readers to share perspectives, experiences and insights. For this to work, we need your help.

What we're looking for: 

  • Your real name — first and last. 
  • Direct responses to the article. Tell us how your experience relates to the story.
  • The truth. Share factual information that adds context to the reporting.
  • Thoughtful answers to questions raised by the reporting or other commenters.
  • Tips that could advance our reporting on the topic.
  • No more than three comments per story, including replies. 

What we block from our comments section, when we see it:

  • Pseudonyms. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish, and we expect commenters to do the same by using their real name.
  • Comments that are not directly relevant to the article. 
  • Demonstrably false claims, what-about-isms, references to debunked lines of rhetoric, professional political talking points or links to sites trafficking in misinformation.
  • Personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats.
  • Arguments with other commenters.

Other important things to know: 

  • Appearing in WyoFile’s comments section is a privilege, not a right or entitlement. 
  • We’re a small team and our first priority is reporting. Depending on what’s going on, comments may be moderated 24 to 48 hours from when they’re submitted — or even later. If you comment in the evening or on the weekend, please be patient. We’ll get to it when we’re back in the office.
  • We’re not interested in managing squeaky wheels, and even if we wanted to, we don't have time to address every single commenter’s grievance. 
  • Try as we might, we will make mistakes. We’ll fail to catch aliases, mistakenly allow folks to exceed the comment limit and occasionally miss false statements. If that’s going to upset you, it’s probably best to just stick with our journalism and avoid the comments section.
  • We don’t mediate disputes between commenters. If you have concerns about another commenter, please don’t bring them to us.

The bottom line:

If you repeatedly push the boundaries, make unreasonable demands, get caught lying or generally cause trouble, we will stop approving your comments — maybe forever. Such moderation decisions are not negotiable or subject to explanation. If civil and constructive conversation is not your goal, then our comments section is not for you. 

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Neat photo by Greg.

    NEOWISE is a sight to see with the naked eye over the Tetons in the darkened black sky absent any moon and city lights. and a cool sight most anywhere in Wyoming outside city limits.

    And, just when we needed some heavenly intervention from the news cycle, along come NEOWSIE. Such a fitting name.

    Reply