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The green comet Nishimura is traveling through the constellation Leo. Watching it race against time and the sunrise.
MUNICH – Not long ago, the green comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) appeared in the sky as it passed Earth. And now another green comet has appeared in the sky: C/2023 P1. The comet was discovered on August 12 by Japanese amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura, and bears the name of its discoverer. Comet Nishimura is currently moving rapidly towards the Sun, and on September 17 it will reach its smallest distance from the Sun, called perihelion. So Nishimura is only about 34.5 million kilometers from the Sun, and there is a possibility that the comet will disintegrate.
Observations of Comet Nishimura are complicated by its proximity to the Sun: it is currently visible in the eastern sky in the early morning hours. Although the comet is getting brighter each day, it will sink a little lower each day at dawn and will not be visible around dawn on September 13 because the sun will already be so bright. Comet Nishimura appears early in the morning in the northeast, and its exact sunrise time varies slightly each day. The “morning star” Venus, which rises slightly to the east in the sky, can serve as a guide.
Nishimura’s Green Comet – The camera makes the comet’s tail visible
The comet crosses the constellation Leo. With the naked eye, comets can only be seen as “stars,” i.e. points of light in the sky, but with binoculars or a telescope, you can see much more. And with a camera with a focal length of 200mm or more, you can also show the comet’s tail, Said in the Friends of the Stars Association.
The name of the green comet C/2023 P1 is taken from the name of its discoverer, Hideo Nishimura. © German Press Agency/NASA | Dan Bartlett
Comets come from outside the solar system which is a cold and distant region. They are celestial bodies left over from the formation of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago. Therefore, comets are also “freezers” that can provide insight into the early days of the solar system and the earth. Celestial bodies are also called “dirty snowballs” because they consist of frozen gases that hold together dust grains and organic particles. As the comet approaches the Sun, the gases sublimate and release dust grains – characteristic tails.
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A green comet descends from the edge of the solar system
Comets also leave dust trails as they travel through space. When the Earth then passes through, a meteor stream is created. Predicting the behavior of comets is complicated because they can also change and decay due to heat from the sun. The next known comet visible to the naked eye is C/2023 A3 (Tuchinshan ATLAS). And by fall 2024, it could be too bright to see without optical aids. (bills unpaid)
Automated assistance was used in writing this article by the editorial team. The articles are carefully screened by Ask Banner Editors before publication.
2023-09-10 03:46:44
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