Greg Gilbert
The Seattle Times

Greg Gilbert

The comet Neowise is seen in the northern sky, about 20 degrees above the horizon, from Alki Beach in West Seattle Wednesday night. The comet has been visible recently from the northern hemisphere, even from light-polluted urban areas like Seattle, and can now be spotted to the northwest just below the Big Dipper about an hour after sunset. The National Weather Service predicts mostly clear skies Friday night over the Puget Sound region after the morning clouds and rain dissipate, but some areas along the coast and near the Cascade Mountains might still see lingering cloud coverage Friday night. Astronomers first discovered the comet in late March, using the Near-Earth Object Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer telescope, according to Scientific American. Officially named C/2020 F3, it has been informally dubbed Neowise, after the acronym for the instrument that spotted it. The comet will come closest to Earth — a mere 64 million miles away — on July 22. After this appearance, Neowise isn’t expected to be near Earth again for about 6,800 years. This image was made with a 400mm telephoto lens mounted on a tripod using a 1.3-second exposure, at f8, and ISO 10,000. 12929177 LO LO 214519 214519

Comet Neowise zooms near Earth

The comet Neowise has been visible recently from the northern hemisphere, even from light-polluted urban areas like Seattle, and now can be spotted to the...

James Croxall, 3, foreground, and his older brother, Jonathan, 5, play at the indoor pool at the Seattle Boat Show, which closes Saturday. James seems particularly interested in the rubber duckies. (Greg Gilbert / The Seattle Times)

Rubber ducky, you’re the one

The Seattle Boat Show, at CenturyLink Field Event Center, closes Saturday. At South Lake Union, also part of the show, you can see boats in...