CBS News: “A newly-discovered comet is giving skywatchers quite the show during the month of July. Early risers may have already caught a glimpse of the comet Neowise as it streaks across the sky, but don’t worry — some of the best viewing moments have yet to come. What is NEOWISE? Astronomers discovered the comet, known as Comet C2020 F3 NEOWISE, back in March. It was named for the NASA mission that spotted it, for the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. The mission was tasked with finding as many near-Earth asteroids as possible, looking for ones that could be potentially hazardous to the planet. But astronomers knew they found something unique when they spotted Neowise.  On July 3, Neowise was closer to the sun than the orbit of Mercury, coming dangerously close to breaking apart. The sun heated up much of the comet’s icy makeup, erupting in a large debris trail of gas and dust.  Measuring about 3 miles across, Neowise is considered a fairly large comet — providing skywatchers with a spectacular view from Earth. It’s made up of material dating back to the origin of our solar system, 4.6 billion years ago, scientists said.  The event is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience — the comet takes about 6,800 years to complete its path around the sun, according to NASA…”