Comet Neowise will reach peak brightness over the UK tonight

A newly discovered comet, Comet Neowise, will be flying over UK skies at its peak brightness tonight. 

Comet Neowise will be visible in the UK tonight as it is at its peak brightness on July 23rd. 

The comet reached its closest approach to the sun on July 3rd, and is now getting closer to Earth.

It will be just below the famous constellation of the Northern Hemisphere, the Big Dipper, around 64 miles away from Earth.

Tonight might be the last chance you’ll get to see the comet for more than 6,000 years, as on July 25th it’ll be directly under the constellation before it continues moving away from us.

Astronomers have said for your best chances to see it head outside just after the sun goes down, as it will only be visible once it is dark. 

This will be after 10:30pm, however the best visibility is expected to be around 80 minutes before the sun rises at around 3:30am. 

Author of Skymania, Paul Sutherland said: “By the third week of July, the comet will be on view all night long and stargazers will be able to view it before going to bed, rather than having to get out of their warm beds before dawn!”

Many people have already seen the comet over the past few weeks as it is getting higher each night. Those who have seen it report that once you find it with binoculars you can get a great view of its’ split tail.

Alternatively set your camera to long exposure to get a great picture of the slightly turquoise colour. 

For your best chance to see the comet head as high as you can get where there is little light pollution and look eastwards.