Tonight is perhaps the best night yet to see Comet Neowise

You can probably tell by now that I am quite interested in astronomy... in fact, one of the most difficult decisions of my life was deciding between astronomy and atmospheric sciences..  I tried to bridge the gap by studying both as an undergraduate and working with Carl Sagan on modeling the Martian atmosphere.  But in the end, I went for atmospheric sciences.


Anyway, tonight may be the best night yet to view Comet Neowise.  The sky is quite clear, with only a few thin cirrus clouds (see below).


The atmosphere is very, very clean.   The Seattle PanoCam shows excellent visibility:


And the latest air quality measurements show extremely clean air.  Looking at the particulates over Seattle, the values (PM2.5) are under 10 micrograms per meter cubed.   Take a deep breath--this is the good stuff.


Sunset tonight is 9 PM.   My advice is wait until 10:45 PM to look, and it would be better to wait until 11:00 PM.   Astronomical twilight doesn't end until 11:35 PM...so there will be slight light in the sky until that time.  Amazing, isn't it?

Look to the Northwest in the lower sky under the Big Dipper (see figure from Stardate.org below)


Professional Tip:  If you are having trouble finding the comet, take a picture of the sky with your smartphone (turn the flash off).  The cameras in most smartphones are more sensitive than your eye.  Then look at the image you have taken.  It may shock you--the COMET will be there!

Professional Tip2:  Use your peripheral vision to find the comet, the center portion of the retina is not as light sensitive strangely enough.

Good comet hunting! 

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