To photograph comet Neowise, it takes patience and placement

To photograph comet Neowise, it takes patience and placement

SeattlePI.com

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LINVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The newly discovered comet Neowise is only visible from Earth once every 6,800 years, and photographers who want to document it seek places with high elevation and little smog or light pollution. A place like North Carolina’s famed Grandfather Mountain.

On a recent weekend, Associated Press photographer Gerry Broome was granted special after-hours access to the iconic peak to accompany photographer and amateur astronomer Johnny Horne on a trip to make images of the comet discovered in March.

The moment came on a Saturday night when Comet Neowise first appeared as a tiny smudge in the northern sky. A pair of binoculars revealed its tail of gas and dust. It was just past 9:30 p.m., and the northern sky had cleared enough to spot the comet with the naked eye. It was as if the heavens opened up and provided a celestial show that wouldn’t be repeated in our lifetimes and for many to come.

“If we don’t attempt to experience these natural wonders, we never see any of them except by chance. I’d rather be deliberate about it,” said Horne, who has traveled to Australia to photograph Halley’s comet, Zambia and Mexico’s Baja peninsula for eclipses and Iceland for the northern lights. The retired news photographer and photo editor, who spent 44 years at The Fayetteville Observer, has contributed to Sky & Telescope magazine since the 1990s.

To see Neowise, Grandfather Mountain was chosen for its clear view at an elevation of nearly 6,000 feet (1,828 meters) But to benefit from the view, the weather has to cooperate. On Friday night, a giant thundercloud blocked the view on Grandfather Mountain as the comet appeared, thwarting the attempts to photograph it.

But on Saturday, both photographers were successful -- Broome atop the mountain again this time, and Horne at a lower elevation.

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