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We were halfway in the lane of friends when we saw THE COMET streaming down on their barn. What a beautiful picture that would make. I stopped in the middle of the lane and out we jumped. Cheryl and I scrambled to set up cameras. Bethany brought the binoculars. Soon a house door banged, and our friends walked/ran down to join us. Cameras clicked. The binoculars were passed around for each to use.
Our evening started with a plan to go to a mountaintop overlooking wild, rugged West Virginia. However, clouds were building up, and it did not appear that an end was in sight. “It just doesn’t look like it is worth our time to even drive up there,” I said as I jumped out to pump gas.
When I got back into the vehicle, Bethany said she had checked the weather and it was calling for mostly clear in Elkton, 25 miles (40 km) to our east. As we traveled, we thought of our friends, Joseph and Janine and their family. A quick call confirmed they were home, and stopping by would be fine.
This was Monday evening, October 14, two days after the comet’s closest approach to Earth. It was also just three nights before the full moon. The light illuminating the scene came from the moon. Even in the bright moonlight, we could see the anti-tail without using binoculars.
A comet’s tail is caused by solar wind pushing the particles shed by the comet directly away from the sun. As the comet orbits the sun, the head points toward the sun, and the tail sweeps around to stay on the back side of the comet.
The anti-tail is where the comet used to be way far in the distance. When Earth is on the same plane as the comet’s orbital plane, we see these particles backlit by the sun, enabling us to see the anti-tail.
Several nights later under the light of a full moon, I photographed the comet again. This time the view was across the lake by our driveway. Clouds were rolling in to bring us a little rain. One of the brief shots captured showed not only the comet between the clouds, but also the touch of a moonbow at the base of a cloud. The whole scene, which looks like daylight, was illuminated by the moon one hour after sunset.
But we weren’t finished yet. On Friday night, October 18, we took a drive to a fun spot in West Virginia. There we set up along a country road and captured the comet over an old barn, as well as framed under an artsy ole tree and split rail fence.
As you may recall from the October issue, just as we were closing it out, we learned another comet may follow this one just one month later. This morning, October 28, that comet succumbed to the sun and now is no more.
We are in the Christmas season. What does the cover photo remind you of? If you are like me, you think about the star that guided the wise men to the house where the young Christ child was. Somehow, the rays from that star clearly indicated a specific place.
From this angle, the comet is pointing to a specific place. Of course this would have changed had we moved to another angle. The wise men didn’t follow a comet; they followed a star. But it is still interesting to me to see that illustrated in this picture even though it is not a perfect illustration.
The star the wise men followed pointed to the Daystar, Jesus Christ, who lives in the hearts of His children. 2 Peter 1:19. This is the Supreme Star we delight in, follow, and worship.