The image of the comet C/2023 P1 Nishimura and its tail was captured from Manciano, Italy on September 5. Stargazers across the Northern Hemisphere caught a glimpse of this comet.
- This is the first time in more than 400 years that Comet Nishimura will pass by the Earth, which is about a couple decades before Galileo invented the telescope.
- Japanese amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura discovered the new comet August 12 near the star Zeta (ζ) Geminorum in Gemini the Twins.
- Nishimura is continuing into the inner solar system on its way toward perihelion, the closest point in its orbit to the Sun.
Comets
- Comets are cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock, and dust that orbit the Sun. When frozen, they are the size of a small town.
- When a comet’s orbit brings it close to the Sun, it heats up and spews dust and gases into a giant glowing head larger than most planets.
- The dust and gases form a tail that stretches away from the Sun for millions of miles. There are likely billions of comets orbiting our Sun in the Kuiper Belt and even more distant Oort Cloud.
