On Goals and Green Comets

About this time last year, stargazers got a chance to see the green glow of Comet C/2022 E3, which had last visited our solar system 50,000 years ago. Kind of a big deal. And the photos astronomers were getting looked pretty spectacular, so even though I live among hills and trees that make visibility tricky, I downloaded a Sky Guide app to at least give myself a fighting chance of looking in the right direction and shuffled outside well past my bedtime in the cold to see what I could see.

Well, I tried. The little arrow in the app said it was there somewhere, but I never did make it out.

We often admire the moon or an especially bright planet, but to really step out in the full dark and see ALL the “diamonds in the sky" is something that I (and perhaps many of us) don’t do often enough. So I still appreciated that even though I didn’t find the special thing I was looking for, it helped me to see the many special things that are there—and have been all along.

It reminded me of a quote from a TV show from a few years ago (Halt and Catch Fire—I recommend it if you have any interest in people, computers, and community): “[Computers] aren’t ‘the thing,’ they’re the thing that gets you to ‘the thing.’” The green comet was my goal, but whether I saw it or not wasn’t really that important because of what I did get to see because of it.

Consider what simply trying can open you up to, whether you succeed in the initial aim or not. The elusive green comet, a little sneaky arrow pointing me to other wonders. “It’s not about me,” it says. “Just remember to look up once in a while and make the effort to appreciate the universe around you.”

Back down on the ground, this might look like finding one’s next career move, course of study, or significant other. You might not find the exact answer you’re hoping for, but the trying—the being open and looking—may help you see other things you’ve been missing that are just as, if not more, beautiful.

I think it’s worth it. Make the effort to look, to seek, even to gather info on where and how to seek (maybe there’s an app for that). But if you don’t find “the thing,” be aware of what you do find (or what finds you) and the beauty and value of it. Maybe it’s what was available to you all along. And now you know.