☄️ RARE Double Comets, Peak Meteor Shower & Sunset Viewing

A rare astronomy night is forecast for October 20th with TWO comets and the peak of the Orionid Meteor Shower, all coinciding during the darkest skies of the New Moon! 🤩 The comets will only be visible right after sunset, so we'll begin by enjoying the sun setting over Tampa Bay from a semi-private overwater pavilion. This spot is also good for birding and wildlife viewing. Bring food and drinks, if you like. This will be a very chill event to kick back and enjoy nature at its finest!

BEAUTIFUL WATERFRONT LOCATION
This pavilion is in a gated part of my apt. complex and feels like a mini nature preserve, with a mangrove forest behind you and all of Tampa Bay's water in front of you. This panoramic view faces due west, and the sun practically sets on the water, which often provides spectacular reflections. 😍 I've filmed over 350 sunsets from here and last year's comet that came by on this same New Moon, so I know this spot and its wildlife patterns very well. There is built-in bench seating and a roof overhead, as you can see in the photo on this page.

NIGHT SKY PHOTOGRAPHY
Smart phone cameras are capable of capturing accurate sunset colors and comets when the right apps and settings are used, so I will gladly show you how, if you want. I used an iPhone 13 Mini to take a photo of last year's comet from this location (see below), so that and every newer model will definitely work! Or bring a "real" camera.

The vast expanse of empty water and thick mangrove forest here provide surprisingly darker skies than most of the Tampa Bay area. The comets are both forecast to maybe be visible to the naked eye, but almost certainly visible through long exposures, binoculars, and telescopes (see below). I will bring my 8x42 Nikon binoculars, 10×55 monocular telescope with phone camera attachment (if it arrives in time), and 3 phone tripods to help everyone get sharp, long exposure shots. Please comment if you can bring telescopes, binoculars, or tripods to share. Note this spot is in a no-fly drone zone, which might also mean no astro laser pointers (not sure).

BIRD & WILDLIFE VIEWING
This October New Moon is a peak day of the year for mating horseshoe crabs at this pavilion! I usually also see ibis, yellow crowned night herons, roseate spoonbills, great blue herons, and tri-color herons. Sometimes I see black skimmers, great egrets, snowy egrets, and brown pelicans flyover. It will be a mid-height outgoing tide that night, which means distant dolphins are also possible. I've also rarely seen bald eagles, ospreys, cute Eastern Screech-Owl, stingrays, raccoons, and cats here. You can also fish from this pavilion, but people only ever catch mullet and rarely catfish here.

BYO FOOD & DRINK
Since this is a peaceful nature spot, let's maintain the relaxing, eco-friendly vibe by bringing your own drinking vessel and food or drinks that don't require plates or silverware. Good ideas are charcuterie, chips, dips, dessert bites, wine, beer, or non-alcoholic drinks. Or bring takeout for yourself if you want to eat dinner with a sunset view! Let's just avoid foods sitting out with smells that might attract wildlife or bugs. I'll bring a bottle of wine to share and a roll of paper towels to double as snack holders and napkins. Please comment if you can bring any food or drinks to share.

❗ WHAT TO WEAR
The wind is usually favorable to not have bugs in this spot, but winds can change at any time. Please wear or bring a long sleeve shirt and pants in case there are no-see-ums. They are only present if the wind is not blowing a constant 7 mph from the SW, W, or NW, and they usually go away as soon as it is totally dark. Bug spray, citronella, and mosquito nets are NOT effective against these no-see-ums and there are never other kinds of bugs here, so please don't bring those. I wear a lightweight UPF zip hoodie to also protect my scalp and neck on bad bug nights. If you need to change clothes, there is a bathroom inside the gym building a few feet from the pavilion. If you don't bring clothing coverage and the wind is calm, I guarantee you will want to sit inside until it gets dark. Also plan your clothing for the air to get colder after dark.

Bring water shoes if you want to wade into the bay. The tide depth should be shin to knee deep around the pavilion during this event and there are stairs for easy access. The water is usually calm and warm, even in Oct. You need water shoes to prevent cuts from oyster shells.

WEATHER CONTIGENCY PLAN
The most spectacular sunsets I've ever seen from this location were because of isolated rain clouds around the bay. If it rains on us, the pavilion has a solid roof to keep us dry, and isolated showers usually pass quickly. So if isolated rain is forecast, get excited!

On the morning of this event, if this Gandy weather page forecasts lightning or more than 60% cloud cover between 6–8 pm, then this event will be rescheduled to the same time on Oct. 21, when the same astronomy conditions are forecast. All the astronomy conditions only align on Oct. 20–21, so by aiming for the first night, we get two chances for favorable skies.

As usual, RSVPs close the day before the event, so please make any changes before then. No-shows and cancellations after RSVPs close will be removed from the group. This policy will be waived if the weather causes us to reschedule.

HOW TO FIND US
The Meetup map pin is on the gym gate to park near. Our driveway off West Shore has NO signage. Drive through the open gate, turn left, continue right until it dead ends at the gym building. Park near the gym. Walk to the right of the gym, through the open gate, behind the gym to the forest gate. Open the top latch on the forest gate and go down the boardwalk to the pavilion.

It may take about 10 min. after you "arrive" to drive through the complex, park, and walk to the pavilion. So if your GPS says you'll arrive at 6:15, you'll probably reach us by 6:25— exactly 30 min. before sundown.