It may look light a dead tree against a murky evening sky, but look very closely & just a bit right & up a touch from dead centre there is a tiny light mark which is officially the McNaught Comet. (if you can't find it, play with with the contrast on your monitor or just trust me that it's there!)

Spectacular? Not, really. So, more attempts the following night...



Again, in this photo it's in about the same spot, a little brighter & the tail trailing upwards. Again, not spectacular, but we were battling through the smoke drifting across The Kingdom from a fire on Kangaroo Island.

Anyway, even more attempts the following night...



No comet here, but an amazing sunset. The chosen viewing platform was our landmark Chandlers Hill, which allowed an unrestricted view down through the valley & out to sea. After the first couple of nights, quite a crowd was congregating & around twenty car loads of people staring through binoculars were scanning the sky for that first glimpse. There seemed to be quite a challenge to be the first to find it & then instruct everyone else where to look. Lots of pointing, hand signals, reference markers & viewing equipment was exchanged for the half hour of viewing time before McNaught chased the sun under the horizon.

Other than a few clouds which tried to steal the limelight, I finally got the shot I wanted.



The McNaught Comet (named after Australian astronomer Robert McNaught) is to be visible until the end of February, weather permitting. However, it is expected to fade over the time as it gets further away from the sun, so I don't expect to get any better shots over the coming days.

Over in New Zealand, various emergency authorities have been called by concerned individuals mistaking the comet for a plane crashing to earth.... but taking an extraordinary long time in doing so! No, this is too funny to made up as the The New Zealand Herald reports here.

For those who haven't seen it, go & have a look if you have the chance. I think we all have memories of Halley's Comet which was a ridiculous disappointment. Remember staring at that insignificant fuzzy dot? McNaught is apparently 100 times brighter & once you work out where it is, is quite clear to see even without binoculars. I promise it's worth your while & if you miss it, it ain't coming back!