Look: Comet Neowise streaking past Earth, providing spectacular show

Comet Neowise - the brightest comet visible from the Northern Hemisphere in a quarter-century - swept within Mercury's orbit a week ago. | The comet Neowise or C/2020 F3 is seen over the Turets, Belarus.

Its close proximity to the sun caused dust and gas to burn off its surface and create an even bigger debris tail. Now the comet is headed our way, with closest approach in two weeks. | Comet Neowise, left, is seen in the eastern horizon above Earth in this image taken from the International Space Station.

NASA's Neowise infrared space telescope discovered the comet in March. | The comet Neowise or C/2020 F3 is be seen before sunrise over the Allg'u landscape, in Bad W'rishofen, Bavaria.

Scientists involved in the mission said the comet is about 3 miles (5 kilometers) across. | Comet Neowise soars in the horizon of the early morning sky in this view from the near the grand view lookout at the Colorado National Monument west of Grand Junction, Colorado.

Its nucleus is covered with sooty material dating back to the origin of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago. | The comet C/2020 or Neowise is seen in the sky behind St Mark's Tower in Malta.

The comet will be visible across the Northern Hemisphere until mid-August, when it heads back toward the outer solar system. | The comet Neowise or C/2020 F3 is seen before sunrise over the Allg'u landscape in Bad W'rishofen, Bavaria

It will be about 7,000 years before the comet returns, "so I wouldn't suggest waiting for the next pass," said the telescope's deputy principal investigator Joe Masiero of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. | Comet NEOWISE before sunrise over Washington, DC.

He said it is the brightest comet since the mid-1990s for stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere. | The comet C/2020 F3, known as Neowise, is seen in the sky over Montlucon, France.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have already caught a glimpse. | The comet C/2020 F3 (Neowise) is seen in the sky above the village of Kreva.

NASA's Bob Behnken shared a spectacular photo of the comet on social media late Thursday, showing central Asia in the background and the space station in the foreground. | The comet Neowise or C/2020 F3 can be seen before sunrise behind Neuschwanstein Castle in Schwangau, Germany

"Stars, cities, spaceships, and a comet!" he tweeted from orbit. | The comet Neowise or C/2020 F3 can be seen before sunrise behind a tower of Neuschwanstein Castle in Schwangau, Germany.

The comet Neowise or C/2020 F3 is seen before sunrise over the Turets, Belarus.

The comet C/2020 or Neowise is seen in the sky over Ballintoy, Britain.

The comet Neowise or C/2020 F3 is seen above Salgotarjan, Hungary. It passed closest to the Sun on July 3 and its closest approach to the Earth will occur on July 23.

The comet Neowise or C/2020 F3 is seen behind an Orthodox church over the Turets, Belarus.