9:30 PM, 12 July

I have observed interesting astronomical events with the naked eye several times in my life and always had a great experience. I recently became aware of Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) which is believed to be the brightest near-Earth pass in 7 years. On a website, I also read the opinion of a scientist who claims that such a bright event can be seen only 3-4 times within a human life, and that if the person is lucky. Of course I decided to do my best to try and see this comet. It can also be seen with the naked eye without equipment such as binoculars or telescopes. I’ll try to see it tomorrow morning, but if the experience isn’t impressive enough I might run home to grab the telescope and come back to try to see the comet with it as well. I live right next to a nice park, and I hope that its block-free space is enough that I will be able to catch a glimpse of the comet from the heart of the capital. Hopefully the comet isn’t just low on the horizon, because that would mean I’d have to go outside Sofia to see it. Eh, those tall blocks. My daughter is still only 2 months old and it is absolutely impossible for me to climb Vitosha mountain at night or go outside the city. Things will have to happen here. In addition, I hope that the light pollution will not hinder my view, because Sofia is a big city with many street lights, illuminated blocks, restaurants, etc. All in all, not the ideal place for someone with an astronomy hobby.

The comet can be seen about 80 minutes before sunrise looking to the northeast, according to the information I read. I checked and the sunrise in Sofia is currently around 6:01 a.m. Which means that from 4:40 a.m. to 6 a.m. the comet (in theory) could be the speck in the sky. My baby wakes up once in the night and it’s right around 4am, which means I can feed her and put her to sleep, and then at 5am I’m off to the park for the exciting astronomical event.

It 22:30. It’s time to bathe the baby and sleep. I hope I have success tomorrow!

5:10 AM, 13 July

I got up a little while ago with great enthusiasm. Strange that the baby didn’t wake up that night, and I got up without an alarm at 4:30. I’ve been peeking out the window a few times now, but there are a lot of clouds. Apparently light pollution is a very high factor as well, because in the only hole of clear sky a single star is visible, which according to my phone app is Vega in the constellation Lyra. I decided to read a little about this star and it turns out to be very interesting. It is part of the so-called Summer Triangle, which represents the three stars Vega, Altair and Deneb, very bright celestial bodies visible in our northern hemisphere during summer. Vega is a classical white star, 40 times brighter than the Sun and 25 light years away from Earth.

I don’t think I’ll be able to see the comet this morning. I’ll wait a little longer before giving up and going to bed.

5:50 AM, 13 July

It’s getting too light already and there are still clouds. I’ll be looking toward the constellation Rhys, where the comet can be seen, tomorrow morning as well. I also found out that after a certain date the comet will be visible late in the evening, not just early in the morning. I won’t give up just yet, hopefully one fine moment I’ll be able to see it. The Institute of Astronomy at the BAS just posted on their Facebook page great photos from the area of Veliki Preslav, Shumensko. Apparently, someone managed to see the comet and take the impressive shots. Come on, good night, I don’t know how long the baby will let me sleep tonight.

4:30 AM, 14 July

It won’t be today either. The sky is extremely clear and there is not a single cloud. The problem, however, is that only a handful of stars are visible, and only the brightest. I have no chance with this massive amount of light pollution to see the comet. I have to figure out a way to get out of Sofia to make a more professional experience.

5:05 PM, 16 July

Something wonderful happened – my husband and I decided to travel for two days to his parents, who live in a small village (they call it a town, but…) about 100 km from Sofia. There are no major light pollutants in the night sky nearby. There are also hills and a large flat area around, so I will have a choice of where to set up. I’m thinking of taking the telescope with me to make sure that even if the comet isn’t very visible, I’ll still be able to see something of it. Oh, I can’t wait. The problem is that I will only have one chance because we will be traveling there on Saturday and back on Sunday. I have exactly one sunset and exactly one sunrise, and my timing has to be flawless. I wish myself luck.

2:49 PM, 18 July

We are traveling! It’s the first time we leave Sofia with the baby and I’m very excited! The car is packed literally to the ceiling with luggage, even though we will be staying for two real days with one night. It’s funny how the luggage for a week and for two days looks the same. That’s how it is with a little baby. It’s even worse that it’s pouring rain on the highway. It was even worse in Sofia. Now we heard from my husband’s parents and it is also raining heavily in the village. I will not lose hope! By tonight or by tomorrow morning, at the latest, the sky will clear and I will see the comet I so dreamed of and chased. I can not wait!

11:30 PM, 18 July

I waited, waited all day, and all day it did not stop raining terribly and mercilessly. It stopped raining a while ago, but the clouds are so dense that the sky is pitch black – not a single star is visible. I think I’ll stop trying for tonight because I need to sleep too. When the baby wakes up in the night I will feed her and check again. I wish I had better luck.

03:27 AM, 19 July

This comet keeps hiding from me and that’s it. And 10% of the clouds haven’t gone away. They stick to each other like flies on honey. The comet hides shyly somewhere beyond them and laughs at me with its bright tail. I’ll sit for another 20 minutes, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be lucky this time either. Today we are leaving and going home to Sofia, where my chances are bordering on zero. Eh.

8:13 PM, 23 July

Today is the day the comet will be closest to the earth and should therefore be most clearly visible and stand out most brightly in the night sky. I have one last attempt to catch a glimpse of her, albeit from the brightly lit capital. Maybe I wasn’t meant to see this beauty. The comet will be visible from the ground for a while, but it will fade with each passing day, and we don’t plan to leave Sofia anytime soon either.

06:12 AM, 24 July

At sunset last night it was quite cloudy, and in the wee hours of the day it started to rain. The sunrise is already here and with its bright rays, marks another failure of my mission to see the cherished comet. I think this is the end of my pursuit. The heavenly body escaped me.

03:24 AM, 28 July

Yesterday I was rushed into Pirogov hospital for an operation to remove my gallbladder, which is full of stones like the belly of the wolf from “Red Riding Hood”. I was lying there after surgery, just awake and semi-sedated, unable to go back to sleep in the uncomfortable hospital bed, when I looked out the huge window next to me. Oops! Here it is! The comet! I saw C/2020 F3 NEOWISE! It was so bright and beautiful, as if it had come out of a dream. It was the only prominent celestial object in that patch of sky. Ah, it was very beautiful! So long I waited for you, so long I chased you and longed to catch a glimpse of your tail! I managed to see you at last! Now I can sleep peacefully… and I fell asleep… like I haven’t slept in a long time.

11:29 PM, 1 August

This comet turned out to be a great adventure. The next time it will return and be visible from Earth will be in 6,800 years. I will hardly be around in the same body. It was very beautiful and I felt a real sense of satisfaction that I was able to complete this mission of mine after all. I’m not going to debate or research whether it’s possible that at that moment the comet was at such-and-such a height, was so bright, or could even be seen from Sofia. I will not even consider whether my eyes were still under the influence of the anesthetic and whether I was not in a more vivid dream. I saw it and that’s enough for me. Let me not doubt this time, as I do with everything in my life. This time I’ll just believe it. I saw the comet.