Tag: Comet

Picture of the Day for January 27, 2023

The sky finally cleared enough tonight to see the stars, but in January, clear skies often means cold temperatures. But since tonight might be the only clear sky with little moon the next few day, I did venture outside tonight to search for the comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF). I saw a shooting star first before spotting the comet but I didn’t try setting up my camera since the wind chills were below zero. It is more fun to observe a comet in July instead of January, like this comet visitor in 2020.

2020 Comet NEOWISE

2020 Comet NEOWISE

Picture of the Day for July 19, 2020

The stormy week has hampered seeing the comet in the evening sky and even tonight there was a cloud hiding the comet from view. There was enough wind to keep the mosquitoes away as I waited impatiently for the cloud to move. But eventually the cloud moved and at last I was able to see the NEOWISE comet and its dust trail. And it is a good thing because with more rain in the forecast, it might be hidden from me on more evenings and I won’t be around to see its return in 6,800 years. The 3 mile wide comet was discovered on March 27 of this year.

Comet NEOWISE

Comet NEOWISE