Cruising very close to the sun, the comet was visible for only a short while after sunset. At right is a detail shot - a 100% crop from the original D50 image. The comet's apparent motion seemed quite fast, and could be seen easily in the viewfinder. The animation below follows the motion for less than three minutes, just before it sank into the cloudy murk and the trees.
Unlike Machholz, Comet McNaught was easily visible, tail and all, in the twilight, and was a magnificent sight through binoculars.

Even better: two days later.
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