Life can be a wondrous, sparkling comet trail that we leave in our wake for others to marvel at. Stewart Stafford
First identified in March 2, 2022, comet C/2022 E3 was closest to earth yesterday morning before dawn. Its last sighting was 50,000 years ago and we will need to wait that long to see this great comet again with the naked eye.
Comets originate in the outer reaches of the universe in the Oort Cloud or the Kuiper Belt. These ‘dirty snowballs’ consist of primarily of frozen ammonia, methane or water, and contain only small amounts of rocky material that circle the sun in large elliptical orbits. Ancients believed comets signified good or bad omens. For instance the star the Magi followed to Bethlehem was a said to be a comet.
Few people we meet during our lives orbit our hearts like Halley’s Comet, crossing into our universe only once, or if we are lucky, twice. Jamie Ford. Jim Morrison saw himself as a huge fiery comet…. Everyone stops, points up and gasps ‘Oh look at that!’ Then – whoosh, I’m gone. And they will never see anything like it ever again.
As with C/2022 we will never see anything like it in our lifetimes. This week take a lesson from the comet, be unforgettable. Create your own space – a space that would be left bare in your absence. Nesta Jojoe Erskine