Nishimura, the ‘green comet’, is approaching Earth, how can we see it?

2023-09-13 04:16:09
During these days we are visited by comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura), which crossed the Earth’s orbit on August 15, three days after being discovered, and whose closest point to Earth will be this Wednesday, when it will be at about 127,000,000 km away (0.85 Astronomical Units). This object is popularly known as ‘the green comet’, due to its greenish color with which it appears in photographs. The comet’s name is made up of the prefix ‘C/’, which indicates a non-periodic orbit; ‘2023’, which is the year of its discovery; ‘P’ the half month of its discovery (during the first half of August), ‘1’, for being the first object discovered in that period and ‘Nishimura’, for the name of its discoverer, the Japanese astronomer Hideo Nishimura. Comets are celestial bodies composed of dust and frozen gases that date back to the beginning of the formation of the Solar System. They come from the Kuiper belt or, mostly, from the Oort cloud. Related News standard No The Indian rover completes its mission on the Moon and scientists look for traces of frozen water ABC Science The vehicle, which traveled more than 100 meters and found sulfur, is now in suspension mode When the comet, due to gravitational interactions with other bodies, undertakes its journey into the interior of the Solar System, the heat of the Sun causes part of that sublime gas to go from solid to gaseous, forming an atmosphere of gas and dust called a coma around the comet. The comet’s coma is ejected thanks to radiation and the solar wind and extends for millions of kilometers through space. This expelled dust ends up forming the comet’s characteristic tail, very bright and with white or yellowish tones. But comets can have a second tail, which is the ionic tail, formed by ionized gases thanks to the ultraviolet radiation of the Sun, forming a greenish or bluish tail that points in the opposite direction to the Sun, regardless of the direction the comet takes. kite. This comet was visible with binoculars during the first days of September, just before dawn, at a very low altitude above the horizon in the northern hemisphere. In mid-September it could no longer be visible during the closest approach to Earth due to its low elongation, which will place it very close to the Sun from our position. The best thing to do to observe it is to find a place with the darkest sky possible and bring binoculars or a telescope, or even a camera that allows long exposures. Before sunrise Until Sunday (September 17) we will enjoy the best days to see Nishimura, always before sunrise, looking in the direction of the constellation of Leo. A day later, the comet will make its closest approach to the Sun, known as perihelion, when it passes 33 million kilometers from our star (0.22 AU). Although it is popularly known as the ‘green comet’, we should not be confused. Although the visit of a comet to the interior of the Solar System is always a very important event for astronomers, and if visible, a spectacle for everyone, they can rarely be seen with the naked eye, much less appreciate their color. It should be noted that if the comet becomes visible to the naked eye, it will be from skies with very little light pollution, and it will not appear green but with a whitish or grayish tone even with the use of optical instruments, since the human eye It does not capture colors well in low light conditions and on objects that are too dim. A few years ago, when chemical film was still used in photography, comets appeared with more bluish colors because the film was more sensitive to the color blue, but with modern digital cameras, with sensors more sensitive to the wavelength closer to green, they make comets look with that characteristic green color, but I repeat, except in photographs, it will not be possible to appreciate the greenish color of the comet. MORE INFORMATION news No Found 3,000 meters deep: it is biological, but scientists have no idea what could be news No Ian Wilmut, the scientific father of Dolly the sheep, dies at the age of 79 However, it is already visible or not with the naked eye, the passage of comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura), like that of any other comet that passes near the Earth, will be a great opportunity to study these celestial bodies of the early Solar System. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Astroafición Discover the sky in an easy and fun way with AstroAfición. Courses, observations, children’s activities, astronomical trips and much more! All the information at www.astroaficion.com
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