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Time running out to see a comet streak across our sky

The Neowise Comet has provided some spectacular viewing for stargazers in recent weeks. That's about to end.

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BOISE, Idaho — You should be able to look up late Friday night and see the Neowise Comet streaking across the sky.

And unless you plan on living for another 6,800 years, right now is your only chance to see the comet.

Neowise is one of just 3,650 comets that we know about out in the heavens, but there are likely billions more snowballs of frozen gases, rock and dust out there ripping around the sun that we just haven't seen yet.

The comet is 70 million miles from earth right now traveling at a speed of about 40 miles per second or 144,000 miles an hour.

Which is why, according to Chris Anderson from the Herrett Center for Arts and Science in Twin Falls, that we've only known about Neowise since the end of March.

"Well, the short answer is this is a comet on an extremely stretched-out orbit," Anderson said. "Comes from way out and comes way in, and that means it comes in fast, these comets are basically in free fall from the outer fringes of the solar system, so they can come zipping in at a real breakneck pace.

"I mean they don't come around that often, comets?" asked Brian Holmes.

"Well, if you look across all human history, you know the earliest comets in recorded history, the Chinese recorded back in the seventh century B.C., but if you look at all the ones that have been bright enough for people to make a note of, on average they come around roughly once every decade," Anderson said. "So about every 10 years you can expect a pretty decent comet. Well, we've had a drought, right since Hale-Bopp it's been 23 years, and of course that's how the law of averages go, so this is the one we've been kind of waiting for the last 10 years or so."

"So, see it while you can?" said Brian.

"Absolutely, yeah, I've been telling people don't wait," Anderson said, "literally one day can make a big difference in terms of how visible it is, and right now it's kind of undergoing this outburst having passed the sun, but it can basically shut off almost like a light switch overnight, you never know, so."

Neowise is only expected to be visible to the naked eye for about the next week or so, but Chris says that's an estimate.

These things tend to change direction on their own sometimes as they lose particles passing by the sun.

So if you want to see it Friday night or this weekend, it is up there all night long but gets closer to the horizon the later it gets.

It would help to get away from city lights, but right about sunset, as you're about to start seeing stars pop out, look for the Big Dipper toward the northwest.

Drop straight down, look for something that has the appearance of a fuzzy smudge, according to Chris.

And if you have a telescope or even binoculars, the view is that much better.

Again, on average we won't see the next one for 10 years or so.

But as Chris said, like Neowise, we could be surprised with an appearance sooner than that.

RELATED: More incredible photos of the Neowise Comet

RELATED: Comet seen streaking across Idaho skies early Friday morning

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