NEOWISE comet is magnitude +4 (and since comets are diffuse objects that means it’s like a +5.5 star - barely visible to the naked eye). Nothing below +3 is visible because asshole neighbors like to turn night into day with 1000 watt lights that they leave on all night to show off how much money they have, just like grass. “Look at me, I can burn electricity all night! Be jealous of how much money I have!”
I’ve been out five or six times. Tonight was PERFECT. The sky was absolutely clear, I had photographically memorized a perfect 3D map of the entire night sky and could pinpoint latitude and longitude perfectly blindfolded, but try as I might there was nowhere dark enough to see something that dim. When you’re walking down the street at 10 PM and are surrounded by five shadows it’s too bright outside. I did find one lovely house with lovely accent lights that were lovely dim (as they should be, it’s night time, people are trying to sleep), but I still couldn’t see it.
Hale-Bopp was beautiful, wasn’t it?
