The comet will climb into view in early May. It will appear low in the west-southwest at nightfall. It should look like a modest star with a short tail extending to the upper left.

Over the next few nights, it will climb higher in the sky and move a little farther toward the north. Current predictions call for it to reach maximum brightness around May 5-10. It will pass closest to Earth on May 7, at a distance of about 30 million miles (48 million km).

Early predictions called for the comet to peak at around first magnitude, which is comparable to some of the brightest stars in the sky. But it has not brightened as much as expected, so it should put in a more modest appearance. It will not rival the brightness of Comet Hale-Bopp, which staged a spectacular show in 1996 and '97. Still, it should be visible to the unaided eye, especially in areas with relatively little "light pollution" from streetlamps and other urban light sources.

NEAT will line up with four planets on the evening of May 12. Look for brilliant Venus, the "evening star," low in the west-northwest as darkness falls. The second-brightest star-like point in the sky is Jupiter, well to the upper left of Venus. The comet will appear along the line between the two planets, a little closer to Jupiter than to Venus. (Mars and Saturn line up to the upper left of Venus.)

One other nice viewing opportunity comes on the evening of May 25, when the comet appears just to the right of the Moon. It will have faded appreciably since earlier in the month, but should still be visible in dark skies.

The comet will fade quickly after that, and drop from naked-eye visibility by early June.