While a number of breathtaking imageshave surfaced of therare comet NEOWISE in B.C. skies, a local photographer captured a truly awe-inspiringmoment onVancouver Island.

The NEOWISEcomet, discovered in March by NASAs Neowise infrared space telescope, reached its closest point to the sun on July 3, which caused the frozen ice ball to heat up and burn gas and dust off its surface.

NASAexplains that, "This very close passage by the Sun is cooking the comet's outermost layers, causing gas and dust to erupt off the icy surface and creating a large tail of debris. And yet the comet has managed to survive this intense roasting."

Just before the weekend, locals were able toview of the astral displayjust below the BigDipper when it reachedits closest proximityto earth, as it madeits celestial journey through the heavens above.

"What a night! With the potential for some aurora action andNeowise fading day by day, I decided to head up here last night," writes McColm on Twitter.

"The comet, bioluminescence, the Milky Way and even a bit of aurora - just wow."

McColum has also shared a number of other mesmerizing photos of NEOWISEon Twitter over the past weeks.

You canview more of McColum's photograhy on his website HERE.

Last week, a local astrophotographershareda remarkable image of a rare comet andAurora Borealis at Harrison Lake.

Liron Gertsman, a 19-year-oldastrophotographer and astronomy enthusiast, tellsVancouver Is Awesomein an email that he's never had the opportunity to shoot a comet before. The last comet visible from the northern hemisphere that was comparable to NEOWISE was Comet HaleBopp in 1997, which wasbefore hewas born.

The previous night, Gerstman also photographed the comet from over English Bay, resulting in a very "Vancouver" landscape image featuring the comet. Read more and see the photosHERE.

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Spellbinding image captures rare comet, northern lights, Milky Way, and bioluminescence in B.C. (PHOTOS) - Vancouver Is Awesome