Comet McNaught, Day 2...

Normally, I leave work around 4:30, but today, I wanted to stay. I work on the 11th floor of the Norton building, our office faces west with an unobstructed view of the water. I really didn't want to miss this one last chance to see the comet. The late afternoon sun streaming into our windows is gorgeous in midwinter, every sunset is a masterpiece. But today we didn't want any clouds! Unfortunately, it looked like some were lining up to ruin our chances of a comet viewing. But when the sun went down around 4:30, there was a band of clear between an upper and lower layer of thick grey clouds. The lower layer hugged the horizon. In between was a swath of glorious pink. The Norton building is nothing but windows, anyone lucky enough to have a view to the west keeps a pair of binoculars handy. I camped out in an empty office along with my co-worker Anita, and we watched and waited, hoping the patch of clear sky would hold out long enough. It did! Just about 5:00, I spotted it, dropping out of the upper layer of clouds, into the twilight. I just cannot get over how beautiful this comet was! What a privilege to have seen it! It was probably only visible to us for less than 15 minutes, and I watched with sadness as it slowly plunged into the lower band of thick clouds. The tail was visible for a few more moments after the head passed from view. My watch said 5:15.
I'm so glad I stayed at the office, I never would have seen it if I'd come home and gone up to the roof. It was lower in the sky today than it was yesteday, Queen Anne hill might have blocked my view completely.