In this StarDate Susitna, Kathleen talks about viewing the comet Neowise, the use of finder charts and the new moon. She makes an effort to view the comet here even though it’s just not dark enough yet.
Caption for the image on the home page: Like all such graphics, this is accurate for 40 degrees N. For AK, we’d be looking NNW, and (compared to this image) the horizon would be lowered on the right side, so that the nightly movement of the comet would be more horizontal. Note that the bowl of the Big Dipper is just barely outside the top of this image, and the tail of the comet is preceding the coma! Graphics credit: Sky & Telescope.
On the right: In this photo, the pair of stars immediately above and left of the comet represent the front paw of Ursa Major. Further up and left is a 2nd pair, those are the middle paw in the drawing of the great bear. The two brighter stars near the top are those on the pouring side of the Big Dipper (which is actually the body and tail of the bear). Good job, Renee!
Photo credit: Renee M. Fleming, age 17, taken with an iPhone at approx 9:45pm 7/16/20 from lat 38 degrees N.
