In the Days of the Comet

News of a comet becoming visible with relative ease caught my attention, and I knew I’d be able to go on a trip to attend a wedding in the family that would have me staying out in the country right when Comet NEOWISE was shifting from early morning to early evening skies. Every evening I was out in the country after the changeover, though, it was cloudy, which made for a colourful sunset or two but cut me off from seeing. Even today, when I’d have to drive back into the country to get away from city lights, the sky looks hazy overhead.

There are plenty of photographs online that would seem to offer more details of the comet than even a pair of binoculars would, but that does tie into the draws of “first-hand experiences” and “seeing for yourself,” at a moment when a lot of experiences have to be “voyages by proxy.” At the same time, I also know there are things that have to be dealt with and accepted, and cloudy skies are one more example of “if that’s the worst thing you have to deal with...”