Stray Photos

[Greg]

All the cool kids have seen it....

[cranefly]

LCF and I are now cool kids.

Photo to follow later today.

[Greg]

Naturally.

[Drunk Monk]

I guess I'll catch it next time it comes around...

That'll have to be another incarnation.

[cranefly]

The plan, yesterday, was for LCF to bike down to Midas in Sunnyvale, get the Prius, and then for us to drive someplace with less light pollution for skyviewing.  But when almost there she learned there was a payment glitch between State Farm and Midas, so she had to bike home empty-handed.

Once more we hiked up Permanente Creek Trail to the hills edging Shoreline Amphitheater.  This time we went later (thanks, Greg), and we remembered the flashlight -- though we used it sparingly, preferring to stumble about in the dark.  The Big Dipper was just barely visible.  We took turns with the big binoculars, and finally, after 30 minutes, I spotted it.  Ever try to let someone else look through binoculars while keeping them trained on something?  Doesn't work.  LCF was getting frustrated, looking on her own.  But then, maybe 30 minutes later, bingo.  She saw it.  When you see it, it's unmistakable, just a faintly glowing smear with the tail wider up to the right.

A couple Asian girls, late teens, came up and asked where they should look.  We gave them directions, but told them it wasn't visible to the naked eye.  Not here, not on this night.  It would have been nice to let them have a gander through our binoculars, but feared Fauci might report us to someone who gives a damn.

LCF photo of comet, once removed.



Which is to say, it's a photo of me looking at the comet.

[Drunk Monk]

Gawdammit

I was searching for the comet on that pic on my iPhone.

I feel so uncool.

[cranefly]

DM, even if haze or fog thwarted your every attempt to "see" the comet, if you were out looking at the sky at the right time and in the right direction, photons from that comet -- either emitted or reflected -- did enter your eyeballs.  So take heart in knowing that in spite of it all you've been touched.  By the comet.

I think that's apparent to us all.

[lady_cranefly]

CF is just a whiner. He found it really quickly, I thought. I'm the one who bumbled about. We were at our spot by 10 and leaving by 10:40. Nice night.

[Drunk Monk]

DM, even if haze or fog thwarted your every attempt to "see" the comet, if you were out looking at the sky at the right time and in the right direction, photons from that comet -- either emitted or reflected -- did enter your eyeballs.  So take heart in knowing that in spite of it all you've been touched.  By the comet.

I think that's apparent to us all.

Now I feel uncool and kind of violated...

...by the comet.

We're all whiners here. That's partly the point.

[Drunk Monk]

Another foggy night 

[thatguy]

Looks like Zuck escaped the box!

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

Neowise seen!

It's a clear night tonight. It was right where the star chart placed it, near the Big Dipper. Despite the street light on my street, I could make it out because when it's clear here, it's really clear. I got out my granddad's old WWII binoculars for a better view but I couldn't make out much of a trail. It was bright and looked like a dash instead of a dot like a star. I could hear the seals and sea lions barked their approval from the wharf.

Yay. I'm a cool kid. 

Finally.

[Greg]

Need proof. Where's the photo?

[Drunk Monk]

Need proof. Where's the photo?

[Greg]

It's all about the framing.