A midsummer night's sky-gazing

On a warm July evening in New Jersey, Dan and Julie headed to a spot on the shore of Raritan Bay that offered a northwest view over water. They thought Bayshore Waterfront Park might be a good spot to watch the sun set and the stars come out - and, perhaps, spot a comet.


They were in luck. There was just enough thin cloud that evening (Sunday, July 19) to create a spectacularly colorful sunset. Then, after the sun went down, the clouds mostly dissipated as the sky darkened and stars began to emerge.

Now, a warm, humid evening in the metropolitan area will never be ideal for stargazing, but the air was clear enough to easily see such bright lights as Vega, Arcturus and the Big Dipper - as well as Jupiter and Saturn rising in the east.

Guided by a couple of articles and illustrations indicating that Comet C/2020 F3, a.k.a. Neowise, would appear between the Big Dipper and the Northwest horizon, Dan and Julie searched that area with binoculars as, gradually, more stars became visible. It was a good hour or so after sunset when they spotted what looked like a little white smudge, or a brushstroke, close to two small stars they later determined were Talitha and Talitha Australis, in the front paw of Ursa Major.

Although it was faint and blurry, Dan and Julie felt pretty confident they had found the comet, with its tail pointing away from the sun as comet tails do. They were further convinced when, the following evening, they were able to spot it again from just outside their house - in a slightly different position, now between Ursa Major's paws, just where the charts said it would be.


The comet was much too dim for Dan to make a photo. But along with the stars, Bayfront Waterfront Park also afforded a view across the bay and New York Harbor to another light show, the Manhattan skyline.

Any other skywatchers out there? This image from Earthsky.org shows where the comet is expected to be on the night of its closest approach to earth, this Thursday, July 23 - with an added mark showing where Dan and Julie spotted it on Sunday night.