We Saw It

Cut out of image taken by SteveJP of McNaught on Monday 15.Jan.2007 here in Sydney.

Photo was taken by my friend
StevePhillips, from which the above
is a cut out.

Last Monday was supposedly the best day to observe with the naked eye the McNaught comet [C/2006 P1]. My friend Steve pointed this out to me, so we organized a get together for that day.

We nearly missed the event, as we were chatting away about the dire state of our world, our lives, and just the kind of stuff friends talk about when they get together. Luckily Steve checked his watch at the right moment, only a couple of minutes before it turned eight o'clock. What a close call.

Dulwich Hill is probably not the best location to observe such an event, but it's were I currently live, so we had to make do.

Up the road we found a good enough spot for our stargazing, as it is kind of elevated and provided a sufficient view of the horizon. Though, we had to go up the steps of someones' house, to have a really good overview of the skyline. Of course this made the inhabitant curious, two fellows with cameras, babbling excitedly away, but luckily she was a nice person, understood our interest, and was also willing to share with us here binoculars. As none of us two had thought of bringing ours, to busy checking our cameras, and full of excitement for what was to come.

We were a little skeptical after the first excitement had dissipated, that what we had seen had actually been the McNaught comet, it could have also been Venus. The mind after all, is a powerful illusion creator and fantastic distortion apparatus. But after checking the web, and looking at a few other images taken by space enthusiasts, we have come to the conclusion "yeah, we saw the real thing". An exciting evening. What is it with these trivial events, which create such strong emotional reactions?

Jason Mark Roehrig My Web Home

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