Wild comet chase!

Have you heard about the comet neowise?  I guess it's been haunting the early morning hours for a while now, but decided to check out the night scene on the 12th of July, 2020, and I was determined to capture it on film.  Get out and look, it is a good show but it will be gone as of the 22nd!  I saw hale-bopp and Kawasaki back in 1997, or at least I thought I did, but this is way cooler though I thought I had read it wasn't as good?  Weird!  Definitely have a pair of binoculars or a telephoto lens for the best show.  I had read that it was 'right after sunset' but full dark would be a better description. I actually despaired of ever seeing it, I went out looking the last three nights, but between low clouds and obstructions on the NW horizon, I didn't see much.  Last night I took all my junk out (spotting scope, tripod, binoculars, folding chair, camera and two lenses, flashlight, bug proof clothing) and sat watching, waiting, hoping, but again, no comet and low clouds, ugh!  But Jupiter was bright on the opposite horizon so I got the spotting scope out and had fun with that, trying to take pictures through a spotting scope with a telephoto lens in the dark, yes it was as awkward as it sounds!  Saturn was just to the left as well, and that was amazing, with the 60x spotting scope I could actually see 4 of Jupiter's moons and Saturn's rings, and yes, I did get an awful picture of Jupiter and 3 of its moons (or 1 big bright blob and 3 specks) but it was fun and cool.  Then I looked in the opposite direction and there it was!

Yes, my pictures are pixelated (I'm photographing with a telephoto lens in the dark!) and there are overhead wires, but it is still way cool.  I remember those 1997 comets as just a slightly oblong star, this baby looks like what a comet should in one's imagination!  Just seeing it was amazing, it was also fun to try photographing it (please don't use your phone?!), I've captured lightning and fireworks and a planet, now a comet!  Definitely get out the binoculars, but find the Big Dipper after full dark and follow it straight down to the NW horizon, look for a blurry bit of light, and there you go!  We won't see this particular phenomenon again, and who knows when we'll get another to equal it, so be wild, skip an hour or two of sleep and go star gazing!