Am I crazy…walking out the lane at 3:00 a.m. just to try to see a comet? When I got to the mailbox, I looked up. There was the comet, all right, just under the North Star. What had appeared as a “fuzzy light in a fog” the evening prior when moonlight was brightening the sky, had now “grown” an incredibly long tail. It streamed at least three-fourths of the way back to the horizon.
I turned and ran back to the house— “Bethany, you have to come see this!”
It has been twenty-eight years since that night, but the shock and awe is etched into my memory.
And this month might be your opportunity to see a comet and etch your own lifetime memory.
As this magazine goes to print, it is too early to know what will happen with this comet. If it survives its trip around the Sun, predictions say it may become a magnitude 2. It will be fast-moving, so each night it will be in a different position.
Black skies are key to seeing a comet’s tail at its finest, as observed in my story. This comet, when at its brightest, will have moonlight interference.
When the skies are clear, look. No one knows if it will surprise or disappoint. Be alert and enjoy.
