Pandemic, Week 18 (Neowise)

This week, following calls for a boycott of Goya products after their CEO praised the President, both the President (in the Oval Office) and Ivanka Trump posted pictures of themselves endorsing Goya beans (and violating ethics rules). Federal Customs and Border Patrol agents, dressed in military fatigues, apprehended citizens and detained them in unmarked minivans in Portland, OR. The Nationals had an inner squad game at Nats Stadium. Ruth Bader Ginsburg announced her cancer has returned. Congressman and Civil Rights leader John Lewis died.

Meanwhile the world hit 14.4 million COVID-19 cases and 603,000 deaths with the U.S. reaching 3.8 million cases and 143,000 deaths. The White House argued that schools should open this fall, regardless of whether they've met the CDC's guidelines because, "Science should not stand in the way" of re-opening schools. In addition, the White House decided the CDC should no longer be in charge of COVID data on hospitalizations, and that hospitals should instead report the information directly to the White House. Congress is debating another coronavirus stimulus package with Republicans insisting on liability protections for businesses whose workers contract the disease at work; Democrats insisting on direct payments to most Americans, expanded unemployment insurance payments, and assistance to state and local governments; and the President balking at funding expanded testing. The governor of Oklahoma, who attended Trump's Tulsa, OK rally, announced he had COVID.

We continued to chill (and work) in Iowa. Efforts on the zip-line stopped abruptly when it became apparent that: 1) it wasn't steep enough to actually transport anyone, and 2) there was a fray in the cable and so all 600+ feet will need to be taken town and replaced. Revised plans are still being developed. So we watched Hamilton. We made pretzels. We saw Pete and Bernie (who had a doctor's appointment in Iowa City). Nora got prescription sunglasses.

But most significantly (from an astronomical standpoint), we enjoyed the approach of Neowise, the first comet in 23 years to be visible to the naked eye. Allen and I initially checked it out in Iowa City, but then enjoyed a Fawcett/Zimmerman socially distant comet viewing at the pond the next night (with s'mores!).

Given comets were once believed to be heavenly omens, one could argue that Neowise's presence means that things on earth are about to improve. We really, really hope so.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)