For the first time in over 400 years! New Comet Discovered Best Observation in the Northern Hemisphere Next Week
A newly discovered comet is currently galloping through the solar system, and astronomy enthusiasts in the northern hemisphere are expected to discover this green comet in the night sky this weekend, marking the first time in over 400 years.
According to Agence France Presse on the 6th, the comet is numbered C/2023 P1 and its size is currently uncertain. A Japanese astronomy enthusiast discovered it in August, so it was named "Nishimura Comet" after the discoverer's surname.
Comet Nishimura is currently passing through space at a speed of nearly 390000 kilometers per hour and is expected to pass Earth at its closest distance of 125 million kilometers on the 12th. Afterwards, it will continue to approach the sun and is expected to be closest to the sun around the 17th, even closer than the planet Mercury, which is closest to the sun.
Paris Observatory astrophysicist Nicolas Bive said that few comets are most clearly visible in such a short period of time after their discovery. Most comets only move to positions close to the Sun and easy to observe after being discovered for months or even years.
Bi Wei said that this comet only passes through the Sun once every 437 years, and spends most of the rest of its time in the cold space of the outer solar system.
When a comet approaches the sun, the dust and ice that form the nucleus sublimate, forming a long tail. Huiwei reflects sunlight, making it observable from Earth.
Italian astronomer Gianluca Massey said that next week is the best and final time to observe Comet Nishimura from the northern hemisphere, after which it will "disappear into the sunlight.". If Comet Nishimura does not disintegrate when it passes over the sun at close range, people in the southern hemisphere can still see it in the night sky before the end of September.
The best time to observe Comet Nishimura is about an hour after sunset or before dawn, and it can be seen towards the night sky less than 10 degrees northeast of the horizon, near the constellation Leo. Paul Jordas, a researcher at NASA's Near Earth Object Research Center, said that Comet Nishimura is visible to the naked eye, but can be seen more clearly with binoculars. He said that the last time Comet Nishimura passed over Earth, Galileo had not yet invented a telescope.