You're going to have to hold *very still*, so prop yourself on a railing or a tripod.
Camera? Long exposure, on a tripod.
You're going to have to wait for us to process our photos later tonight: my cell phone Night Sight couldn't get it.
No comet in this image, just a "finder-chart" photo to help you look.
Ok, it is crystal clear skies now, Seattle.
If you have binoculars look at the North Star and then 3-4 binocular fields of view due right of the North Star. There is almost a fuzzy almost-green blob. That's the comet: C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
Also, the predictions I'm seeing have the sky clearing up tonight, so there are more chances.
Consolation prize, here's a picture of 2022 E3 (ZTF) I took with a remote telescope in Virginia. #CometZTF
Wow, today's sunset was something else. #AAS241
Why doesn't it do _this_ for my eclipse & solstice sunset watches at our "mini-stonehenge" (Solstice Park) in West Seattle?
Are there #aas241 peeps participating over here on mastodon?
For those who were asking, I was correct in my recollection: the angle of sunset is the complement of our latitude. For Seattle that sunset angle is always 42.5°, since our latitude is 47.5°.
Here is a link to a helpful diagram from Deborah Byrd.
https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/why-equinox-sun-rises-east-sets-west-entire-globe/
Solstice Sunset Watch, THIS afternoon, Wednesday Dec 21, 3:45pm at Solstice Park in West Seattle!
Join me!
Happy solstice to all! I know the solstice is almost 5pm tonight (my time) but was very frustrated there's no easy way to look up WHICH NIGHT is longest. Pagans want to know this shit, I know lots of nerdy pagans, why isn't a longest-night calculator trivially findable?
Thank you @AlicesAstroInfo for explaining that it's the night closest to solstice. So this year, it's tonight.
Solstice Sunset Watch, Wednesday Dec 21, 3:45pm at Solstice Park in West Seattle!
Join me!
As published today in:
https://www.seattletimes.com/explore/at-home/the-winter-solstice-how-seattleites-embrace-the-dark-and-ignite-the-light-on-the-longest-night-of-the-year/
https://westseattleblog.com/holidayguide/
http://alicesastroinfo.com/2021/09/seasonal-sunset-watches-2021/
Aurora borealis (Northern Lights) viewing from Seattle FAQ, and all the data for forecasts, etc: http://alicesastroinfo.com/2015/09/aurora-viewing-from-seattle-basic-tips/
Alice Enevoldsen, Astro ed. in Seattle. NASA Volunteer, SSC faculty. Posts are mine. She/her. Other AlicesAstroInfo platforms are listed on my website.