Last night was the last chance to view Comet McNaught, the brightest comet in 32 years, before it swings around the sun and comes out on the other side, visible to the southern hemisphere in a few days. TR and I drove up to Queen Anne hill as the sun was setting and joined a group of people camped out at the end of Highland Drive, where there is a great unobstructed view to the west. There were quite a few clouds in the sky, but we were all hanging on the hope that we might catch a glimpse in the small swath of clear sky.
Just as we were about to give up and head home, the photographer standing next to us (flickr user Ed119) spotted the comet (he'd been out there the night before and so he knew what to look for). Because the comet was setting, and setting fast, we only saw it for about 2 minutes (confirmed by the EXIF data on my photos). But it was clearly visible by the naked eye, and just beautiful through binoculars. Before we knew it, it had disappeared again behind the lower cloud bank.
It was a perfect Seattle moment - we were all huddled out there in the cold (it's been chilly here lately), hoping against all hope that the sky would be just clear enough to spot the comet. When it appeared, it was just amazing.
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