I finally saw it tonight in between the fast moving clouds. That's actually a great photo. To me it wasn't nearly that "bright" or high contrast, of course, I live in the middle of Houston (tons of light pollution) and am looking over a lot of bright areas to see it.

For a "faint fuzzy" it was actually fairly bright. I wasn't able to see it with the naked eye, but once I knew where to look, it was easy to see with my 20x60 binoculars.

It was compared to Hale-Bopp what most stars are to the sun.

I remember seeing Hale-Bopp, and remember thinking that it looked unreal because it was so large and so bright. It seemed almost cartoonish or Biblical in scale.

Not my photo, but this is pretty much how I remember Hale-Bopp from just inside Houston looking to the west through the streetlights on a well lit street. It was as visible as the moon. By comparison, Neowise is practically invisible.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/131...riguss_960.jpg

Back in 1986 I was heavy into armature astronomy and part of a local club. When Halley's Comet came back we were all set to view it. As a kid in school they taught about it, and showed drawings and photos and made it seem like a huge streak across the sky. I was excited about seeing it some day in the far future when I was be over 30 and old. It was about like that photo, and I felt ripped off. I don't know who ripped me off, but I blame bad teachers. ;)

Too much light pollution in suburban Chicago for me to see. Wish I could get to my place in far Northern WI for a look.
Maybe next pass:)

Yep, most photos of anything astronomy based are VERY different from what you see naked eye. I was very happy to see something like that photo the other night since I've done enough astronomy to not expect the photos.

Hale-Bopp back in '96-97 was different. It was an ENORMOUS streak across the sky even in light polluted Houston.

You could almost certainly see it with a pair of binoculars. We've got tons of light pollution here in Houston (4th largest city in the country), and I was able to see it last night. But the view would be MUCH better someplace with darker skies.