I won’t deny that Neowise raised a sense of urgency in me. I’m not much of an astro photographer and shoot very little at night but seeing this comet for the first time (actually my first comet ever) was exciting and inspiring. I have felt this urgent energy of impending ends before…sometimes it’s the end of a season, maybe the departure of our summer birds. Or the closing of some kind of special local shop or eatery that you thought would always be there. You try to appreciate them a little more before they go.
This comet though was different because you had a very small window of time to see it…and that greatly depended on good clear weather…knowing it would soon fade away, back into the cosmos where the naked eye and a small camera would never see it again for some time.
6800 years to be more precise.
As a good friend of mine said about it, “I’m not sure I want to wait around that long”.
I have to agree.
It was fun to see it while it lasted. To search the skies with great anticipation each night…waiting for the sun to fade away, only to eventually expose the comet again in all it’s glory for a few fleeting hours at best. In its wake it left some wonderful memories behind, and an inspiring reason to go out and play in the dark.
In the coming days I’ll share some final images of my time with Neowise. Of course I enjoy sharing them with you but mostly they will be posted on the blog for me…it will be good to occasionally reminisce while we look forward to what will hopefully be another magical encounter with a comet some day.