Look to the sky for New Year's Eve comet

[jpak]

Source: USA Today

Apart from the traditional fireworks and illuminated ball in Times Square, look for a blazing comet to light the night sky on New Year’s Eve.

The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory said a comet may be visible as people welcome in 2017 on Saturday.

“Say farewell to 2016 in cosmic style by looking up to see the #NewYearsEve #comet on December 31,” the laboratory said in a Wednesday Instagram post.

Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova will be near the moon on New Year's Eve, NASA said. People should look west to see it, CNN reports.

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Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/12/29/look-sky-new-years-eve-comet/95952054/

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[louis-t]

1. Oh no! It IS the end of the world.

Reminds me of this movie. By the way, I appear in this film on a record album being used as a prop. Bottom right of the album she is holding about 40 seconds in.

[jpak]

3. !

[Buckeye_Democrat]

14. LOL! The laughter is about as realistic as...

from the game shown at the start of this video:

[BumRushDaShow]

2. Few will surpass Hale-Bopp's appearance - with no telescope or binoculars needed! nt

[Maeve]

4. Usually considered a sign of ill-fortune...

I remember Hyakutake, the great comet of '96. We'd need a telescope to view Haley's and so when the family said to come out on the porch to see the comet, I was saying "How easy is it going to be to...whoa!" Seemed to take up a huge protion of the sky..

[OldRedneck]

5. Okay . . . let's inject some reality . . .

If you go out on New Years Eve, look near the moon, and expect to see a hugh object blazing a path across the sky, you'll be seriously disappointed. Comets don't move across the sky enough to be seen in one night's viewing. Each night the comet will have moved slightly from where it was the night before, but, as you are watching it, it appears to be sitting still, not moving.

Also . . . mostly what you will see is a fuzzy ball. As days go by and the comet approaches the sun, you may begin to pick up a tail.

This comet is expected to be a good binocular-view. Also, it will be visible through mid-Febraury. A decent pair of 7X35 binos should give you a good view of the comet. If you've never seen a comet before, you are looking for a fuzzy ball. Once you find it, it will be easy to see it the next night . . . just look generally in the same place, you may have to search around a little bit as it does move from night to night.


Here's a quote from the Sky and Telescope website:

Comet 45P will brighten to Magnitude 6? on February 11 when it will pass about 8 million miles from Earth in our morning sky. Unfortunately there will be a full Moon, but binoculars might show a nice comet with a long tail 50 degrees above the eastern horizon at 4AM.

Here's a photo of the comet made from Denver on Dec 21.
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/online-gallery/comet-45p-honda-mrkos-pajdusakova-emerges-from-evening-twilight/

Here are more links:

http://www.cometwatch.co.uk/45phonda-mrkos-pajdusakova/

Pictures taken in December:
http://www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/0045P/2016-pictures.html

[elleng]

7. And, the moon doesn't rise 'these days'

until 7:?? A.M!

[Quackers]

13. Depends on what day it is.

Today, December 30, the moon will rise at 8:33am and set at 7:00pm est.

[elleng]

20. HERE, southern MD,

rises (rose) 8:08 a.m, will set @ 6:30 p.m, after sun's set @ 4:54 p.m.

[JohnnyRingo]

8. Thanx for the clarification

I'm an amateur sky watcher with a 4" reflector and a cheap refractor and I'm glad you pointed out the facts.

[elleng]

6. And tonight,

Venus and Mars point to Neptune.

http://earthsky.org/tonight/venus-and-mars-point-to-neptune

[Crash2Parties]

9. more charts & finder graphics

http://www.heavens-above.com/comet.aspx?cid=45P&lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=UCT

Basically, find Venus. Then find Mars nearby. Then find the comet on the other side of Venus from Mars, about the same distance away.

[elleng]

10. Thanks!

[Crash2Parties]

11. Don't thank me yet. That close to the Moon, it'll take some good size glass to see it

...in most areas.

That said, clear skies permitting we'll be out there with the same equipment we used for Lovejoy in 2014; binocs and an old light bucket.

[elleng]

19. Well, I prolly won't see it.

Decent 'glass,' but but but!

There's this:

http://earthsky.org/space/comet-45phonda-mrkos-pajdusakova-new-years-eve

'A comet on New Year's Eve?


Is there a comet visible in the west after sunset now? No. Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková is there, but too faint to see with the eye alone.'

Good day/year, Crash!

[Crash2Parties]

21. Yah, we've got clouds rolling in..

Oh, well!

Take care and see you next year! Have a good one!

[lapfog_1]

12. If it looks like this

I will really start to worry

[canetoad]

15. Nothing to do with the comet

Last May or June, winter here, very dark in the morning. Driving the 5km to the beach to do morning dogwalk on a dark, country road. Light, glowing object, travelling from right to left. Was the ISS orbiting between Tasmania and Antarctic. Super cool.

[briv1016]

16. Any way we can steer into this thing?

Put us all out our misery.

[Judi Lynn]

18. We wouldn't have to hear the Inauguration Bloviation. Definitely worth considering. Thanks.

[Judi Lynn]

17. The tapestry illustration of people watching Haley's Comet shows folks were as tall as buildings!

Who knew?

That's an interesting bit of art work.