Comet C/2014 Q2, NEOWISE image. This long-period comet was discovered on 17 August 2014 by Terry Lovejoy. Comets are icy bodies from the outer solar system that boil and form a bright tail of gas and dust as they approach the Sun. Comet C/2014 Q2 on 30 January 2015. This image was obtained in infrared by NASA's NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Survey Explorer) on 30 January 2015, when the comet reached its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion). The blue tail, composed mostly of ionized particles and small dust, extends in the anti-sunward direction (to right), while the comet's path across the sky is mostly down and to the left in this image.