Comet C/2020 F3 Neowise has been an elegant streak of light in the northern skies this past month. Or at least, so I am told. Unlike my friends in the UK, here in Tucson I have only seen a faint smudge on the horizon. Once.

Tucson, with its mountains and dry climate, is one of the world centres of astronomy – that’s why the Vatican built its telescope here. But this particular comet is located in the northern part of the celestial sphere; thus from vantage points further north, it rises higher in the sky and is easier to see.