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Scientists report that a newly discovered comet, which in less than two weeks can become visible to the naked eye, in early September.
Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) was discovered falling toward the heart of the solar system by amateur astrophotographer Hideo Nishimura in Japan using a 30-second exposure on a digital camera on August 11.
The comet originated from outside our solar system, and it is likely that it will be hurled back into interstellar space after performing an intense gravitational slingshot around the sun. Before leaving our cosmic neighborhood forever, the icy body will likely become 100 times brighter, meaning it will shine like a star in the night sky.
Follow-up observations indicate that the object, dubbed Comet Nishimura, has a hyperbolic orbit, according to Spaceweather.com. A hyperbolic orbit is when an object orbits a more massive object, such as the Sun, which gives the smaller object enough energy to escape the larger object’s gravity.
Comet Nishimura’s orbit means that this is likely its first and last trip through the inner solar system. The comet likely originated outside our star system, making it the third known interstellar object ever discovered, after ‘Oumuamua – which some astronomers have suggested is an alien spacecraft, and Comet 2I/Borisov.
However, it is also possible that the comet originated from the outer fringes of the Oort Cloud – a reservoir of comets and icy bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune that floated at the edge of the solar system for thousands of years before being captured by the sun’s gravity.
Here is the path of the comet Nishimura through the Solar System in August-September 2023 ☄️👇
Credit: Star Walk pic.twitter.com/UyoAmXoPGE— Star Walk (@StarWalk) August 18, 2023
Comet Nishimura will reach its closest point to Earth on September 13, and will reach its closest point to the Sun on September 18.
On September 13, the comet will pass 0.85 astronomical units (AU) or 127 million km (79 million miles) from Earth, and reach perihelion at 0.22 astronomical units (33 million km or 20.5 million miles) from the Sun on September 18.
As it gets closer to the sun, it will become brighter, with an apparent magnitude (a measure of brightness relative to Vega, one of the brightest stars visible from the northern hemisphere). The lower the number, the brighter the object will be between 5 and 3 in the night sky, according to Spaceweather. .com.
The comet’s apparent magnitude is currently about 8, which makes it clearly visible through a telescope.
During mid-September, the best time to view Comet Nishimura will be shortly before sunrise or shortly after sunset, due to the comet’s location relative to Earth, according to NASA.
Astronomers do not know when the potential interstellar intruder will leave the solar system. However, it is also possible that the strong force of the comet’s solar gravitational slingshot would tear its solid core, according to NASA.
Recently captured images of Comet Nishimura revealed that the comet’s coma, the cloud of gas and dust that surrounds the nucleus, gives off a green glow. The unusual color is caused by molecules of dicarbonate (a two-carbonate compound) that are broken down by sunlight, according to Science.
