How do you see Comet Nishimura 400 years before it leaves?

The universe presents a cosmic gift this week, as a newly discovered comet will pass near Earth to say Hey before leaving our planetary neighborhood for more than 400 years. The green comet C/2023 P1, or Nishimura, is already visible in the dawn sky, but over the weekend it will get much brighter and should be visible without a telescope or even binoculars.

How to see Comet Nishimura

If you’re in the northern hemisphere, you’ll have to get up early or stay up late to see the comet. in September. 10, it will rise at 5 a.M. It will appear closer to sunrise each subsequent morning, until September 17, when it is not visible due to the glare of the sun. Tuesday Sept. 12 Is The Sweet Spot: That’s The Night Nishimura Will Be Close To Earth —Only 78 million miles from your home.

To find the comet, look for the sickle of the constellation Leo, above the east-northeast horizon, an hour or so before sunrise. Nishimura will appear near Venus. As the days go by, tThe viewing window will get shorter and shorter and the comet will appear lower on the horizon Until eventually visibility becomes impossible because of the sun.

Seeing this comet is a once-in-a-lifetime event: If you miss it, you have to wait 2435 for Nishimura’s return trip – assuming it is not captured by the Sun’s gravity and destroyed in the meantime (Not likely, but possible).

Can you see Comet Nishimura without binoculars?

Nishimura should be big and bright enough to see with the naked eye if you’re somewhere with clear skies and little light pollution. But even under these ideal conditions, it would be barely visible. You’ll have better results in scoping it out with some binoculars, a telescope, or a camera designed for astronomy. With the right equipment, you should be able to see the comet’s green halo, or take a long exposure to make its long tail more visible. (paying off Lifehacker’s Guide to Astronomy Equipment for Beginners If you want to get into peeping stars.)

How was Comet Nishimura discovered?

The comet’s namesake, Hideo Nishimura, discovered the celestial body in August. 11, 2023. Nishimura, an amateur astronomer, took the first image of the comet using a 30-second exposure setting on a consumer digital camera.

Astronomers aren’t sure yet, but Elegacy Passing through the path of Comet Nishimura may be the reason for the sigma-hydride meteor shower that can be seen every year in December.