PUNE, Nov 17: Disappointment was writ large on the face of Puneites as the unseasonal rains and heavy cloud cover poured cold water on their plans to witness the celestial firework of comet Tempel-Tuttle on Tuesday midnight.While nearly all those who had earlier decided to venture out of the city to experience the phenomenon cancelled their visit, only scientifically inclined Puneites moved ahead towards city outskirts in search of clean sky to watch the majestic meteor shower.The tempo built up by the media and at by the scientific institutions like Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) and Jyotirvidya Parisanstha at the local level, was put paid to as bad weather played a spoilsport when everything just appeared to be going well with text book precision for the city enthusiasts. Keeping their camera and binoculars aside, the amateur star gazers preferred to slip into their beds in the cosy winter night and watch the earth crossing the trail of debris left behind the comet on television networks.There was little hope for those who were planning to venture out of the city in aniticpation of cleaner skies as the Central Weather Observatory ruled out the possibility of finding one till Wednesday morning. ``There is cloud cover over the entire West Coast since Monday which is likely to persist till Wednesday morning,'' said an India Meteorology Department spokesperson.
