Greedy and Gormless

I suppose I shouldn’t be gobsmacked at the story that Marina Bai is suing NASA for $300 million. However, I’m intrigued about the claim reported by several news agencies that "her grandfather pointed out the Tempel-1 comet to her grandmother", and that this is what led to their marriage. Some stories use the phrase "showed the comet" while others use the phrase "pointed out the comet". To me, the latter phrase conjures up the image of the grandfather pointing into the sky and saying to the grandmother: "see, it’s there!" – or, I assume, probably something more romantic if this event did actually kickstart their relationship. 

 

Now, the trouble with this version of the event is that you can’t actually see the Tempel-1 comet with the naked eye. You need a telescope. So if in fact Bai is claiming that her grandfather "pointed out" the comet, she’s either mistaken or lying. But let us suppose that she did claim that her grandfather "showed" the comet to her grandmother – then he must have used a telescope. Presumably then he must have been at least an amateur astronomer, and perhaps even an astronomer by profession. In which case, he must now be spinning in his grave, since his granddaughter clearly hasn’t inherited any scientific thinking – she’s an amateur astrologer – and a particularly greedy one at that.