Comet Neowise appears over Mount Washington in the night sky as seen from Dee Wright Observatory on McKenzie Pass east of Springfield [Ore.] Tuesday night.
According to NASA the lower tail, which appears broad and fuzzy, is the dust tail created when dust lifts off the surface of the comet's nucleus and trails behind the comet in its orbit.
The upper tail is the ion tail, which is made up of gases that have been ionized by losing electrons in the sun's intense light.
To catch a glimpse of the comet yourself, find a spot with clear skies and look for the comet in the northwest sky an hour after sunset. The trail becomes easier to see and photograph later in the evening.
This image was made at approximately 11 p.m. with a 7-200mm lens at ISO 2500 at f 2.8 during a 13 second exposure. [Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard] - registerguard.com
Back Story on This Photo
by Chris Pietsch
Sandpoint High and University of Idaho grad
Director of photography/multimedia extraordinaire at the The Register-Guard in Eugene, Oregon.
Special Note: Seeing that my former student/longtime friend's photo had appeared in major publications around the world, I asked he could submit it to one more: "Slight Detour."
Chris was kind enough to do so and even wrote a short piece highlighting his quest to capture this phenomenal image.
Thanks, Chris. I'm so honored.
When you get one of those "out-of-this-world" shots, and it is seen around the world, that's pretty neat.
And, when you're from Sandpoint, Idaho, those from the ol' hometown who have "known you when" and who have followed your career couldn't be any prouder.
When you get one of those "out-of-this-world" shots, and it is seen around the world, that's pretty neat.
And, when you're from Sandpoint, Idaho, those from the ol' hometown who have "known you when" and who have followed your career couldn't be any prouder.
~~~~~
from Chris . . . A couple weeks ago I decided stay up past my bedtime and make a picture of Comet Neowise as it passed through the night sky.
Not being a morning
person I waited until July 13 when I understood it would be visible in
the night sky and not require being awake at 3 a.m.
For my first attempt
I drove out north of Eugene to Fern Ridge Lake, but unfortunately I was
not able to find it. In hindsight, I probably left too early.
The
next afternoon I resolved not to be skunked again and decided to drive
up to McKenzie Pass two hours east of Eugene.
I was pretty sure I would
be rewarded with clear skies at least and I hoped the comet might line
up with some interesting geographical features in the Cascade Range.
I
settled on a spot at Dee Wright Observatory and waited for dark.
Well
I got what I hoped for and then some. While the comet did not make an
appearance until 9:30 p.m. or so, the longer I photographed the better
the scene became. It was clear that I had lucked out with my choices.
The trajectory as it moved across the sky took it straight to Mount
Washington to the northwest of my chosen spot.
I could not believe my
good luck.
My only worries were all technical, shutter speeds, f-stops,
ISO and focus. The sky was so dark that I had difficulty with all of
them. In my excitement, all I could think of was, “Pietsch, don’t screw
this up!”
The next morning after a few hours sleep, I pitched the
picture for our A1 centerpiece and posted a series of images to our
website.
The pictures immediately started driving large volumes of
traffic via social media to The Register-Guard website. Later, as an
after thought, I posted the best image to the AP and USA Today photo
wires and went about my business.
By the time I got back to
paying attention the image had blown up on the Internet.
In addition to
driving big numbers of viewers to our website, so far I am aware that it
has been used by The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Guardian,
MSN and dozens of other smaller publications.
The NYT posted it on their
Instagram account where it was “liked” over 89K times. My social media
feeds have been overwhelmed with congratulations and questions about how
I captured the image.
I confess it has been a bit overwhelming,
but also very gratifying to hear from so many people who liked the image
and felt compelled to reach out to me with comments.
More importantly,
the image seems to have inspired many to go out to have a look
themselves and to try for their own images. It doesn’t get much better
than that these days!
Let’s do this again in 7,000 years.
If you haven't seen my RG gallery you can visit it here: bit.ly/32jJJOg
~~~~~~
In other news, I went to Co-Op Country Store to buy a mask yesterday. I wore my mask into the store where a new employee in the tack department pointed out the display.
I could get one that covered both eyes and ears but opted for the "no ears" variety.
Soon afterward, Lily was happily wearing her mask and not complaining one bit.
The other day when I took a mask out to the field for CB, he at first resisted. I'm thinking he may have been reading too much social media lately.
On second thought, he decided it was okay for me to put his mask over his eyes. After all, the flies had circled the wagons around both of his eyes.
He must have remembered how that mask had helped him during last year's hot, dry fly season. So now, he almost comes running when he sees me with a mask.
My horses don't feel that their liberty has been usurped because they have to wear masks during July and August.
They know that the mask protects them from the irritating winged pests.
And, I know that my masks protect me and others from irritating Covid germs and potential death.
I have been following a story on Facebook about the family of one of my FB friends. The story has been updated from day to day since the first announcement that 18-19 members of a family (ages 1.5 to 75) from Illinois tested positive for Covid.
If I remember correctly they had been together for a family gathering.
Most are getting better but each day of late, prayers have been requested for the uncle who was moved to ICU one day and then yesterday, attached to a ventilator.
The family has said prayers and are hoping for him to survive, but they are realistic.
And, so, those who wish for their liberties might think about how my horses have their freedoms from flies and from potential medical problems with their eyes during July and August, thanks to a mask.
And, for us humans, the protection extends far beyond eye problems.
A while back, when I saw an individual for the first time in a number of years, this person wanted to hug me.
I stood back and politely said no.
"You are one of those," she said.
"Yes," I said, "I'm old, and I want to live long enough to go back to Ireland.
And, though I didn't say it out loud, I thought, "Yes, I AM one of "those," and I want to stay that way."
After all, present tense and future tense seem a whole lot better than past tense.
So, I keep my distance, wash my hands, use hand sanitizer and wear a mask whenever I enter a store or a tight area.
BTW: so does my daughter, even though she has been mocked here in Sandpoint a few times for wearing a mask.
Annie has a friend who designed her mask in the photo below. Yes, both her message and her mask has my approval.
Annie sez her friend who designed the mask will be happy to take orders.
In other news, I went to Co-Op Country Store to buy a mask yesterday. I wore my mask into the store where a new employee in the tack department pointed out the display.
I could get one that covered both eyes and ears but opted for the "no ears" variety.
Soon afterward, Lily was happily wearing her mask and not complaining one bit.
The other day when I took a mask out to the field for CB, he at first resisted. I'm thinking he may have been reading too much social media lately.
On second thought, he decided it was okay for me to put his mask over his eyes. After all, the flies had circled the wagons around both of his eyes.
He must have remembered how that mask had helped him during last year's hot, dry fly season. So now, he almost comes running when he sees me with a mask.
My horses don't feel that their liberty has been usurped because they have to wear masks during July and August.
They know that the mask protects them from the irritating winged pests.
And, I know that my masks protect me and others from irritating Covid germs and potential death.
I have been following a story on Facebook about the family of one of my FB friends. The story has been updated from day to day since the first announcement that 18-19 members of a family (ages 1.5 to 75) from Illinois tested positive for Covid.
If I remember correctly they had been together for a family gathering.
Most are getting better but each day of late, prayers have been requested for the uncle who was moved to ICU one day and then yesterday, attached to a ventilator.
The family has said prayers and are hoping for him to survive, but they are realistic.
And, so, those who wish for their liberties might think about how my horses have their freedoms from flies and from potential medical problems with their eyes during July and August, thanks to a mask.
And, for us humans, the protection extends far beyond eye problems.
A while back, when I saw an individual for the first time in a number of years, this person wanted to hug me.
I stood back and politely said no.
"You are one of those," she said.
"Yes," I said, "I'm old, and I want to live long enough to go back to Ireland.
And, though I didn't say it out loud, I thought, "Yes, I AM one of "those," and I want to stay that way."
After all, present tense and future tense seem a whole lot better than past tense.
So, I keep my distance, wash my hands, use hand sanitizer and wear a mask whenever I enter a store or a tight area.
BTW: so does my daughter, even though she has been mocked here in Sandpoint a few times for wearing a mask.
Annie has a friend who designed her mask in the photo below. Yes, both her message and her mask has my approval.
Annie sez her friend who designed the mask will be happy to take orders.
 |
from Annie on Twitter: Only today does
@realDonaldTrumpdecide wearing a mask, which science had proven will help save lives, is “patriotic.”
Turns out
@JoeBidenwas patriotic enough and man enough to wear a mask several Covid years ago.
~~~~~
|
And, then, there are the turkeys.
It's been a banner year for the gobblers here in the Selle Valley.
They're getting a bit too up close and personal when it comes to my yard area. In fact, yesterday morning, while watering, I noticed about four nasturtium tops snipped from the plants.
Though they are known to be nuisances, I have learned through years of observation out here in Selle that turkeys might be the most organized of all critters.
I've watched them go to bed and have watched them get up in the morning as they go to their designated summer homes and snooze in the tree limbs.
I've listened as they seem to talk constantly, keeping everyone in order.
There's definite discipline in turkeyville, and I'm thinking that our government might take some time to observe and to follow the examples they set as they move from place to place and live their daily lives.
The turkeys, though, could use a little instruction on social distancing, not only while perched on my fences but also in distancing themselves from my flowers and my yard.
Guess that's enough for today. It's gonna be a hot one.
Stay cool. Happy Tuesday.
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