Well, so much for seeing the comet during the day TODAY. Our little corner of New England is wet, cold, icy, and rainy. Time’s a runnin’ out to see McNaught, and I may have to content myself with viewing it in other people’s pictures. It wouldn’t be the first time, nor will it be the last. That’s the tantalizing thing about backyard astronomy: sometimes you get to see the cool stuff; sometimes you don’t. But, the views—when they’re good—are what keeps you coming back to the stars for another helping.

I remember back in 1996 when we had Comet Hyakutake gracing the skies. No shortage of clear, cold nights THAT year. And then, later on, I had a chance to view Hale-Bopp from a variety of locations. Even though I studied comet plasma tails in grad school—and mind you, plasma tails can be VERY cool to study—the sight of those vast, sweeping dust tails was just sublime. SO otherworldly. I could stand there and think about my science AND appreciate the beauty of the night sky with a comet arcing across it. The scene in the image below is what I see in my mind’s eye when I think of those wonderful comet-gazing experiences.