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Credit & Copyright: Peter Kennett
Explanation:
Comet Nishimura is growing.
More precisely, the tails
C/2023 P1 (Nishimura)
are growing as it nears the Sun.
Discovered only last month, the
comet is already near
naked eye brightness as it now moves inside the Earth's orbit.
The comet will be nearest the
Earth next week, but nearest the Sun the week after -- on September 17.
Speculation holds that expelled ice and dust from
Comet Nishimura's last visit to the inner
Solar System may have created the
Sigma Hydrids
meteor shower which peaks yearly in December.
If so, then this
meteor shower may become more active,
refreshed with new
comet debris.
Pictured, Comet Nishimura was captured from
Edgewood,
New Mexico,
USA
four nights ago, showing a long ion tail structured by interactions with the
Sun's wind.
Look for this
comet near your
eastern horizon just before sunrise for the next few mornings,
but very near your
western horizon just after sunset next week -- as its coma
continues to brighten and its
tails continue to grow.
Gallery:
Selected Comet Nishimura images submitted to APOD
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: comet
Publications with words: comet
See also:
- Vega and Comet 12P Pons-Brooks
- APOD: 2023 November 26 Á A Dust Jet from the Surface of Comet 67P
- Galaxies and a Comet
- APOD: 2023 September 11 Á Beautiful Comet Nishimura
- APOD: 2023 September 3 Á Comet Schwassmann Wachmann 3 Fragments
- APOD: 2023 August 21 Á Introducing Comet Nishimura
- Comet C 2023 E1 ATLAS near Perihelion