New Year's Eve Comet Live Stream: How And When To Watch Comet 45P Near The Moon As Fireworks Light Up The Sky

If the sparkle from the Times Square ball dropping on New Year’s Eve wasn’t enough, then celebrators can look forward to a comet lighting up the sky Saturday night, too. Nasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova will be visible near the moon as people ring in the new year.

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

NASA said the comet, which infiltrates Earth’s orbit about every five years, first appeared in the horizon on Dec. 15, and has been slowly moving across the sky since. Although Comet 45P will be the most visible on Saturday, when it’s the closest to the crescent moon, it will still be too dim to spot with the naked eye. However, the comet’s blueish-green head and fan-like tail will be easy to spot to the left of the moon with a pair of binoculars or a telescope, as long as the weather permits. The comet will be the most visible right after sunset and will remain visible in the horizon for a few hours before meeting with the moon.

Along with a comet sighting, New Year’s Eve skywatchers will also be able to spot several planets in the same Saturday night sky, AccuWeather reported. Venus will be the brightest planet to spot because it gives off the second amount of natural light in the sky next to the moon. Mars will be positioned above Venus in the sky, but viewers should still be able to spot its reddish color lighting up the sky. Although not as visible to the naked eye, Neptune will also make an appearance in the New Year’s Eve sky. The planet is too far from Earth to spoke with the naked eye, but weather officials said its close proximity to Mars Saturday and a pair of binoculars should make Neptune an easy find.

Comets will continue to light up the sky in 2017, starting with Comet 45P again. The comet will make a reappearance in early February as it moves away from the sun, except this time Comet 45P will be most visible in the hours before sunrise, according to reports. The comet is expected to be even brighter than its New Year’s Eve night time sighting, but people will still need binoculars to spot it in the morning sky.

If spending New Year's Eve looking into a telescope isn't an option, star gazers can watch a live stream of the event, which will be featured on Slooh. Viewers can also tune into the sky show by watching the live stream player below.