This object was reported on Aug. 4 UT by J. Chesley as a possible comet
seen in exposures taken on Aug. 2 and 3 by NEOWISE (C51), noting that the source
displayed a PSF twice what was normal. Following on the heels of the borderline-"Great" Comet NEOWISE C/2020 F3 (no. 676), the NEOWISE mission discovered another small-perihelion distance comet (0.34 AU) on August 2. The comet is presently around 16th magnitude and is deep in southern circumpolar skies (current declination -73 degrees), and remains exclusively accessible from the southern hemisphere up until almost the time of perihelion passage. After passing 11 degrees due west of the sun just before perihelion it becomes accessible in the northern hemisphere's morning sky during the latter part of October, although the elongation remains somewhat small for the next few weeks. Theoretically, the comet could become somewhat bright -- possibly reaching naked-eye brightness -- around perihelion and/or afterwards, although at this time it seems to be rather faint intrinsically, and thus how bright it might actually get, and even whether or not it survives perihelion, are things we will have to see over the coming weeks.

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