Thursday, March 14, 2013

Looking for Panstarrs

In hopes of getting a shot of Comet Panstarrs I drove with my gear to a nearby viewpoint.
March 8 was a perfect night with clear skies but alas, the comet had set by the time the sky had darkened enough to view it.
March 9 had a similar issue plus the marine layer was creeping over the coast range 50 miles away.  March 10 we walked up to enjoy the view but since it is 3/4 of a mile I didn't bring my camera gear.
Last night, March 13, I tried again.  By now the comet was higher in the sky, away from the glare of the just set sun.  Unfortunately the clouds in the west were also higher.  Although the comet was faintly visible through the clouds it was to faint for a picture.  I did enjoy the sunset, though.
Clouds on the western horizon are normal here, great for sunsets by not too good for comet gazing.

I'll be checking SkyWatch, Friday to see if any other sky watchers had better luck.  Follow the link and join me there.

21 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Gorgeous skies in spite of no comet!! The last shot is truly breathtaking, Martha! Hope you have a great weekend and perhaps better look with the comet!!

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Nice pics, I appreciate your persistence.

Carver said...

Wonderful shots of the magnificent sky and interesting post.

Karen said...

Great shots, shame you missed the comet.

Liz said...

Lovely pics. Happy sky watching.

My sky.

Randi said...

Terrific captures of the skies. Marvelous colors! Love the last one.

HansHB said...

Great serie of photos for the Sky-theme!

Steffi said...

Very beautiful photos for SWF!Thank you for it and have a nice weekend!

Photo Cache said...

those sunsets are reward enough for your effort, i should think.

eileeninmd said...

Lovely colors and a beautiful sunset capture! I would love to see the comet. Out skies were cloudy last night! Happy Skywatching!

Light and Voices said...

Nice try but no cigar. However, you posted some might nice sunset images. I appreciate your time and effort and glad you posted this week. Hope to see you next week.
JM Illinois

islandwonder said...

Love the last one especially!

Linda Reeder said...

I wasn't even aware of the comet. You were certainly dedicated to your mission, and you got some lovely sky shots.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I didn't even know that I missed the comet Martha, as this is the first I'd read about it. You are so knowledgeable! You got some beautiful sky shots even though you missed your goal.

Heather said...

I had not even heard of this comet until a blogging friend mentioned it the other day. Love the bottom photo! Mine

Spare Parts and Pics said...

These are wonderful photos, even if you didn't capture the comet!

Anonymous said...

What pretty sky shots.

LOLfromPasa said...

Fun to think that the unexpected photos turn out to be a collection of gems.

Leovi said...

Yes, I like that delicious twilight, exquisite photos ...

Kay L. Davies said...

Gorgeous photos, Martha, and at least you got to see the comet, albeit faintly. We tried, but standing outside this month in this area is NO fun.
K

Janie said...

We had a similar problem with too many clouds near the western horizon. Finally got a glimpse on the 15th, but by then it was pretty faint, visible only with a good pair of binoculars.
Beautiful sky photos, even if the comet wasn't bright enough to appear.