Video: Mission control celebrates separation but anxiety builds over landing

Comet 2020 F3 (NEOWISE) is putting on a fine showing in the pre-dawn northern sky after emerging intact from perihelion (closest point to the Sun).

Mission controllers are rethinking a series of close-up comet flybys planned for Europe’s Rosetta spacecraft after a haze of dust around the comet’s central nucleus led to navigation errors during a close encounter in late March.

Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) is a brand new comet discovered by on August 11 by Hideo Nishimura of Japan. In its one and only visit to the Solar System, it may reach magnitude +2 when at perihelion in September.