2023-09-06 18:37:54
Comet Nishimura, discovered only a month ago, is currently heading towards the Sun. It will shine at its maximum during the weekend, offering a spectacle visible with simple binoculars, or even with the naked eye.
This small rocky and icy body, whose exact size is not yet known, takes its name from a Japanese amateur astronomer, Hideo Nishimura, who observed it for the first time on August 11.
“It is rare to discover a comet so shortly before its maximum of clairvoyance. Most are discovered months, even years before their closest passage to the Sun”, underlines Nicolas Biver, CNRS researcher at the Paris Observatory. – PSL.
“C/2023 P1”, as it is scientifically named, has a long-period orbit with a last pass near the Sun dating back 437 years, he explains. No trace of the last passage of this frozen visitor has been found in the astronomical archives, specifies the astrophysicist.
Closest to the Sun on September 17
When comets (celestial bodies from the cold regions of the solar system) approach our star, the ice contained in their nucleus sublimates and lets out a long trail of dust reflecting the light of the Sun. It is this shiny hair that can be observed from Earth.
An image provided by Italian astrophysicist Gianluca Masi of comet Nishimura, seen from Manciano, Italy, September 5, 2023. [Gianluca Masi / AP – Keystone]
Comet Nishimura will pass closest to the Sun on September 17: it will then be 33 million kilometers from the star, or “less than a quarter of the distance from Earth to the Sun”, and 125 million kilometers from Earth. , according to Nicolas Biver.
Comet visible to the naked eye
We can already observe it, but it will be this weekend that it will be the brightest, especially in the northern hemisphere. “Best to look at the sky before sunrise (around 6 a.m.), looking northeast to the left of Venus (commonly known as the Evening Star), in clear skies with no light pollution,” advises the searcher.
Small binoculars will be enough to enjoy the show, which some might even see with the naked eye if the weather conditions are right. The tail of comet Nishimura is greenish in color, due to the fact that it contains “more gas than dust”.
ats/ once more
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