Rare New Years Eve Comet Guaranteed To Be The Most Magical Thing You’ll See This Year.

New Year’s Eve is always an exciting time as people all over the world celebrate the end of the year while simultaneously ringing in the new one. But this year, before you head out to a party or tune in to watch the ball drop, you may want to look up at the sky right after sunset because a comet will be visible in the western sky!

According to NASA, the comet known as comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova has been nearing our planet over the past couple of weeks. As its orbit bring it closer and closer, its been steadily growing in brightness, and ever since around December 15th it has been visible in the night sky. NASA scientists say that the beautiful space ball of ice and dust will have a blue-green head and its faint, thin tail will appear to be fan-shaped.

Check out the video below for a taste of what you can expect:

Source: Meteor Over Thailand by ViralHog on Rumble

Comet 45P is no stranger to our part of space because it’s what’s called a periodic comet, meaning it orbits around the sun and returns annually. Thus, every five years 45P makes it’s way back to the inner solar system and we get to see it!

On Saturday December 31st the comet will be close to the moon, which will be in the crescent phase. While you may be able to see it with the naked eye, if you are in a dark enough location and have strong vision, the majority of us will need either a telescope or strong binoculars to get a good view. That’s because comet 45P is said to currently be at around the 6th apparent magnitude, which is the measure of brightness of a celestial object as seen from Earth. That puts it just inside the limit of human visibility and so having a telescope or binoculars will improve your view immensely. In addition, weather conditions factor heavily into whether or not you’ll be able to see the comet, so check your local forecast to see what is expected.

Source: Meteor Lights Up the Sky by ViralHog on Rumble

Check out the video below for a taste of what you can expect:

Here’s how to catch a glimpse of the New Year’s Eve comet:

Find the darkest place possible near you, one that is free of light pollution and provides open, unobstructed views of both the sky and the horizon.

Shortly after the sun sets and during twilight, point your telescope or binoculars towards the southwestern horizon. According to astronomers, it will be quite low in the sky at about 10 degrees above the horizon at six in the evening.

Since the comet will be also be near the crescent moon, look off the left side of it, and search for a greenish-blue object with a tail streaking away from it. Once you spot the comet, you’ll know you’ve found it!

This weekend the cosmos are certainly putting on an awesome display for all of us to enjoy. Not only will the New Year’s Eve comet grace the sky as we bid farewell to 2016, the crescent moon and Venus will also be up there shining down on us. If you’d like a chance to unwind and relax after all the holiday hoopla and before your New Year’s celebration, take a moment for yourself and do some sky gazing. It works wonders at clearing your head, gives you a chance to reset your thoughts, and just makes life all the more enjoyable!

Source: sun-gazing.com