Remember the Great Comet

It has almost been 11 years since Hale-Bopp completely freaked out a lot of people and finally put my telescope to good use. Yesterday I wiped a few inches of dust of that telescope and tried to zoom in on Saturn as it was next to the lunar eclipse.  I would like to blame light pollution to my inability, but being that I put the telescop together backwards in the dark probably didn’t help much either. I was able to get the moon into focus but its not the same.

When the Great Comet came through I was 13 years old. Things were not going well. I had 3 more scars than any kid should have, my buzz cut hair did nothing to hide the largest. I was pale and weak from treatments and my hair fell out in clumps (but not enough to cure my terminal hairiness)

I can easily say that I or anyone reading this will ever see anything on the magnitude of Hale-Bopp for hundreds of years unless, that is, Haley’s Comet does better than it did in 1986 and I live to be 79.  I’m not very enthusiastic.

Oh and some cult killed themselves so that they could board the alien spacecraft that was rumored to be following the comet, but that a whole different story.