Trust me--this is a picture I took at night earlier this month. There's a faint outline of my neighbor's house (if you look at it and kind of make your eyes go "fuzzy," you'll see it...), but other than that, the picture shows basically nothing.
Kind of like my attempts to spot and photo the Neowise Comet.
I missed it--got nothing--bupkis.
And I won't get another chance for six millennia.
Growing up, the subject of Hailey's Comet used to come up. I think it's because it's one of those events that most people have a reasonable chance to see it at least once--some of the lucky few might be able to see it twice. I often wondered when I thought about the comet coming once every 75 years, what if it was cloudy on the night it passed by. That would suck. The last time Hailey's hit was in 1986 and I was living as a missionary in Denmark at the time. There was an excellent chance I was in my room when that comet was visible. I tented to keep that rule.
Turns out, comets are not a "one night only" kind of event, at least that was the case for the latest comet to become the subject of millions of photos. And because they said the Neowise Comet would be visible for several days, I kept putting off trying to see or photograph it. Plus, we live on the west side of a hill, so seeing things in the eastern sky are different for us than if we lived in the valley.
No matter the excuses, I flat out missed it and by the time I seriously tried to see it, it was too late.
When I used to think about Hailey's Comet as a kid. I thought it would be so cool to see something in the sky that only happens every 75 years. This time, it's a 6000 year opportunity missed. Oh well... maybe one day I'll get to see one of these things. Here's hoping.
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