Comet to Travel New Year's Eve Sky Right After Sunset

NEWPORT, RI—Comet Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková, or Comet 45P, for short, meet ups with the crescent moon right after sunset (about 4:26 p.m.) tonight, New Year's Eve.

Say farewell to 2016 in cosmic style by looking up to see the #NewYearsEve #comet on December 31 pic.twitter.com/3xaehGj0IQ
— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) December" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/NASAJPL/st... 28, 2016

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The comet has a blue-green fan tail, but to see it, bring binoculars and hope the clouds stay away.

According to NASA, the comet is not the only celestial event tonight. The bright star, Sirius, which can be found from Orion's belt, has its annual midnight culmination tonight. According to NASA partner, Night Sky Planner, draw an imaginary line through Orion's belt and look South to see Sirius, which may flash colors from red to blue.

http://earthsky.org/tonight/br...

Also, Venus and Neptune are near the moon. Venus will be visible easily, but star-gazers will need binoculars to pick up Neptune.

Then, if all else fails, look for fireworks around midnight from Goat Island. Weather-permitting, they are supposed to be lit in honor of a private wedding, and they'll be visible from Newport Harbor. Grab the ear plugs for the doggies and the kitties. The show is supposed to last nine minutes.

Courtesy Photo: NASA