2023-09-02 14:23:00
A comet recently discovered by a Japanese amateur astronomer is catching the attention of both NASA and stargazers.
Using a standard digital camera, Hideo Nishimura detected the celestial body in early August during a series of 30-second exposures, according to NASA. Although currently the celestial body (named C/2023 P1 Nishimura) is not visible to the naked eye, this might change throughout this month of September. With the steady increase in the comet’s brightness, astronomers have now plotted the comet’s future trajectory through the inner solar system.
“As the comet plunges toward the Sun, it will certainly continue to intensify and possibly become visible to the naked eye in early September.“, NASA said. There is a catch – the comet’s proximity to the Sun means that it will be best visible during sunset or sunrise moments, when the Sun’s glare obstructs vision less.
The magazine Cosmos suggests that the comet will appear in the constellation of Cancer in the sky before dawn until September 7thbut its visibility will decrease throughout the month as it approaches the Sun’s intense brightness. Applications such as Starwalk or Sky Guide can guide skywatchers to the comet’s general region of the sky.
An event for the comet to approach as well — its perihelion, the point of closest approach to the Sun, is scheduled for September 17. At that time, it will be approximately 0.22 AU (astronomical units) from the Sun, a distance just over a fifth of space between Earth and the Sun. Nishimura is estimated to take regarding 435 years to complete a single orbit around the Sun, making it a long-period comet.
As the comet is predicted to pass closer to the Sun than Mercury, the comet’s nucleus is likely to disintegrate as a result of the intense heatwhich makes the next few days unique for observing the comet.
1693686630
#Comet #newly #discovered #astronomer #visible #naked #eye #month
