Space.com
Skywatchers aren’t the only people excited about Comet NEOWISE. Astronomers are also buzzing about the icy wanderer, which observers under clear, dark skies in the Northern Hemisphere can currently see with the naked eye.
The last comet to put on such an impressive show was Hale-Bopp all the way back in 1997, NASA officials have said. More
I easily found the comet in the night sky on the northern horizon at 1:30 am. It was in the NE before sunup this morning. – Dr. Tar
…I think you’re supposed to go to war against evil when you see a comet, just sayin’…
OK, I’ll put on my best hooded night shirt and yell ‘Hail Bop’….or is it ‘Hail Jay’ when I get a new Rolex to worship?…
I once owned a ’74 Comet. What a piece of crap.
“CALPHURNIA
When beggars die there are no comets seen.
The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.
CAESAR
Cowards die many times before their deaths.
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear,
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.”
-Shakespeare, “Julius Caesar”, act 2, scene 2.
…so tell us, muses, what Prince is next to fall…
Gosh, SNS, your comment was a lot more eloquent than mine. 🙂
Tony R
JULY 16, 2020 AT 6:39 PM
“Gosh, SNS, your comment was a lot more eloquent than mine. 🙂”
…but I wanted to get into your ’74 Comet, too…buddy of mine usta have a ’73 Maverick, which was the downscale Ford version of the Mercury Comet (as a mechanic later, I learned that the difference between a Ford and a Mercury was $2000.00 msrp). This was about a 10 year old and not well treated, and with the coil over upper control arm that I’m sure plauged you with ball joint problems as well. He called his “The Rocinante” after a spaceship in a Rush song and tried to depict a smoking hash pipe in pinstriping in the back window, but fortunately he was a shitty artist and the cops and school never seemed to figure out what it was.
Anyway, the car wasn’t terrible for a straight-6 of the era, it just burned oil like a freight train and had the fit and finish of a metal Big Wheel. Still, it got the job done, even if it only lasted a couple of years before the suspension became hopeless, but the main thing was that it was cheap and disposable, which are DEFINITELY qualities first-time drivers WANT in a first car, because, rear-wheel drive drag racing…
…good times, good times…
Who’s with Me?
Willy, ya’ gotta’ sing all the words to “Mmmm-Bop” by Hanson.
SNS: It was really nothing special. 4 door with a 302. It was an ex-company car, with around 70k on the clock, that I bought in 1977 for $500. I needed it for growing family. Bought a VW bus around 1980 (family still growing) and got $500 on the trade-in. Worst thing about the car is the AC would only blow through the defroster vents!
I like using this website for any stargazing. It takes your location and helps you figure out what is where:
https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/night/
I bought some powerful Oberwerk binoculars a few weeks ago and could see the stripes of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn.
Felt like a kid again.
Looks like a pinprick hole in the night sky with light shining from the backside…
Tony R
JULY 16, 2020 AT 7:21 PM
“SNS: It was really nothing special. 4 door with a 302. ”
…I know that was a heavy car, but it should have had a LITTLE scoot with a 302…do you remeber if it was Windsor or Cleveland?
Actually, I invented that comet … and the other one, too!
Back when the World was young, I crafted it out of ice and dust and sent it on its grand elliptic!