comet c/2023 Tsuchinshan- ATLAS

I still can't believe that the clouds parted just enough for me to see (and capture) the c/2023 Tsuchinshan- ATLAS comet last night! And I can't believe the size of that tail! This is definitely the biggest comet I have ever seen. I am so in awe... and so grateful I was able to catch that on camera!

It's still visible, and to the naked eye! Although, of course, depending on the amount of light pollution in your area, it may not look that bright/big, or it might be even bigger if you're lucky enough to find yourself somewhere really dark. Either way, if you'd like to see it, look West, about 1 hour after sunset, at Venus set, about half way between Venus and Arcturus (of the constellation Bootes), see the picture from my Instagram story below:

It's been mostly cloudy around sunset time lately, so these are my best shots form the last few days:

You may think- why didn't she just wait until the clouds moved away? What you can't see here is that on that day they were moving into the frame, and just a few minutes later, you couldn't see the comet at all. I should have gotten there a few minutes earlier, but I didn't time it well.. (a lot earlier didn't make sense because it would have been too close to sunset). But just getting a glimpse of the tail like that, even behind these clouds, made me want to do better next time, because I just couldn't get over how huge it was.

And finally last night, I was lucky enough to get a good picture and even a short time lapse!

Here it was still too bright (and cloudy) to see the comet, but I loved the after-sunset light and the way the river reflected the sky..

A little while later, I captured this time lapse- if you look closely, you can see Venus setting in the bottom left corner of the frame:)

And here are a few photos from that night:

The river in the photos is the Ottawa River, the comet seems to be suspended over Aylmer (Gatineau, QC), and all the photos were taken from the Ottawa shore of the river, around Westboro Beach, Ottawa, Ontario.