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Locals share stunning snaps of rare comet lighting up Vancouver skies (PHOTOS & VIDEO)

Locals share breathtaking photos and a local man gives tips on how to view the astral spectacle from the city in the coming days.
Elana Shepert
Elana Shepert
Comet-NEOWISE-over-Vancouver
Photo courtesy of Liron Gertsman 

British Columbians are sharing more images of a recently discovered comet that will be only visible over B.C. for the next couple of weeks, before disappearing again for thousands of years.

The Neowise comet, discovered in March by NASA’s Neowise infrared space telescope, reached its closest point to the sun on July 3, which caused the “frozen ice ball” to heat up and burn gas and dust off its surface. 

NASA explains that, "This very close passage by the Sun is cooking the comet's outermost layers, causing gas and dust to erupt off the icy surface and creating a large tail of debris. And yet the comet has managed to survive this intense roasting."

Yesterday, Vancouverite Tim Travis tweeted that he saw his first comet first comet ever on Sunday night. He adds that, "If you're looking for #CometNEOWISE in Vancouver, turns out the best place is readily accessible: the beaches at Locarno, Jericho, or Spanish Banks. After 10:30 pm, North sky over Cypress, a bit below the Big Dipper. Use binocs or a telescope."

Have a look at some of the best photos from the Lower Mainland over the past few days. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

NEOWISE comet watch ☄️ . This picture was taken with a 30 sec exposure, which meant Bailey had to stay perfectly still. She moved her head oh so slightly (there was another dog running around) but overall I was pretty impressed with her stay and look commands 🙌 . . 🏷 tag and collar from @canadianmountainpetwear . . . . #comet #neowise #neowisecomet #astrophotography #neowisevancouver #curiosityvancouver #curiosityvan #dailyhivevan #dailyhivevancouver #viawesome #vancouverbc #nightscapes #dogsinwilderness #yvr #pnwlife #longexposureoftheday #longexposurephotography #cascadiaexplored #adventuredoodle #adventureanywhere #dogphotographer #pawstagram #pawsthatwander

A post shared by Bailey the Doodle (@bailey_theminidoodle) on

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Vancouverites should recognize this silhouette with the NEOWISE comet racing above it ☄️ Shot on a long lens not designed to be used at night but I think it did a pretty good job in this instance. _____________________________________ ↠ 100mm ↠ ISO 1250 ↠ f/4.5 ↠ 8sec . . . . . #explorebc #vancouverisawesome #vancouverguestlist #vancityfeature #discovervancouver #vancouver_ig #earth_shotz #fatalframes #main_vision #theNWadventure #theimaged #amongthewild #vancouverofficial #canadagems #beautifulbc #bcisbeautiful #mountainstones #allaboutadventures #wildernessnation #adventureinspired #exploremore #lifeofadventure #neowise #neowisecomet #neowisevancouver #comet #cometneowise #astrophoto #astrophotographer #astrophotos

A post shared by 𝔸𝕕𝕒𝕞 𝔾𝕝𝕒𝕕𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕖 (@adam_gladstone) on

Last week, a local astrophotographer shared a remarkable image of a rare comet and Aurora Borealis at Harrison Lake. 

Liron Gertsman, a 19-year-old astrophotographer and astronomy enthusiast, tells Vancouver Is Awesome in an email that he's never had the opportunity to shoot a comet before. The last comet visible from the northern hemisphere that was comparable to Neowise was Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997, which was before he was born.

The previous night, Gerstman also photographed the comet from over English Bay, resulting in a very "Vancouver" landscape image featuring the comet. Read more and see the photos HERE.