Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)

For the past week, we’ve been reading a lot about the NEOWISE comet. On Sunday morning, Susan and I got up and on the road before 4:30 AM. We went to  Hangar’s Beach in hopes of seeing the comet. Unfortunately, the sky was too cloudy near the horizon, which is pretty unusual. Every day this week, we checked the sky conditions before dawn and after dusk to see if we might have a chance to see the comet. It was looking pretty bad, until tonight.

Tonight, the sky was clear overhead, so we jumped in the Honda and drove to Lake Washington to try our luck again. We weren’t the only ones who thought of this. I’ve never seen the park so crowded after sunset (but then, I'm usually not there after dark). We quickly parked and walked towards the waterfront. With COVID-19 being an issue, we steered clear of the crowd and kept our distance. Within seconds of pulling out the binoculars, Andrew said, “There it is.” I was like, "No way." Sure enough, it was plainly visible in the binoculars.

Now it was time to try to capture the perfect shot. I set up the tripod and camera and started shooting long exposure shots. Since the comet was just barely visible with the naked eye, it was impossible to see through the view finder. I guesstimated the location and kept shooting. After a while of having no luck, and getting eaten alive by mosquitos, I was finished. Andrew fastened his Pixel 3a phone to the tripod and shot a picture in Night Sight mode at one minute exposure. Then he shot another with a three minute exposure. Both turned out amazing.

NEOWISE comet from Lake Washington. Photo by Andrew

Don't be confused by the streak; that's a long exposure airplane. The comet is below and to the right of the plane.