I think I have one more chance to see the comet Neowise tonight, before it leaves human sight for 7000 years, but the odds are low, as the moon is waxing and the fog is persistent. I was eager to see the comet, so I did some research, concluding that we would not be able to see it from our house while it was low on the northwest horizon, and that it was only viewable from 10:30 pm until some wee morning hour. I got out the map and a ruler and plotted a viewpoint. About the third day of seven, we finally had the time and the wherewithal to drive to that location, a spot about 20 miles north of us on Route 1, whence we arrived around 10:45.

The fog was already there.

The next day I went walking with a local friend, who happened to mention that she had stepped outside of her house each night of the previous three between 9:00 and 9:30 and gotten a great view of the comet each time, it being easy to spot with binoculars. So if instead of researching I had thought, Hey, there’s a comet out now, let’s go out and take a look, I would have seen it.

For the ensuing three nights, we have done just that, but each time the sky was just a little too overcast for viewing. Frustratingly, the afternoons have been beautiful, with stunning blue skies, every dinner eaten outdoors. Ok, that’s not frustrating in and of itself, but rather because I kept thinking, Tonight we’ll see it for sure, but we didn’t.

Today I can practically hear the comet streaking away, and Sainte-Chapelle is on my mind. As you may know, that is the courtyard of a royal palace in Paris built by King Louis IX, completed in 1248. Its royal chapel, built directly over the commoners’ chapel, has been praised over the centuries as the most beautiful structure in Paris for many features, not least its arched walls filled with shimmering stained glass. I have been to visit it three times, and missed it each time.

Clearly it was not streaking away, so how did I manage this? The first time is the best: my traveling companion and I were admitted to the lower chapel, which has arched walls and Moorish designs on the ceiling, and which we thought were quite interesting, but certainly did not live up to the hype. We did not discover the staircase up.

Having realized our error on our return, we made another trip the next year. Sadly, the chapel was closed for reconstruction. Research, albeit badly done, led me to miss the comet, but it might have been helpful for the chapel, though these trips were both pre-Internet. I think we did have a way to do research back then, though I can hardly remember it.

In 1999 our family went to Paris for the millennial celebration, yet somehow did not manage to find time to visit the chapel, a combination of its distance from our hotel, our full itinerary, and winter. The beauty of the chapel is said to be much reduced sans sunlight, so we ultimately decided not to make the effort to fit it in.

I must trust that Sainte-Chapelle will persist, not be destroyed by fire or another disaster, and that we will someday have the time and funds to travel to Paris, including any quarantine requirements. At least those lost chances were not last chances. Neowise, I suspect, I will only ever experience as pixels.