BRIGHT COMET AT DAWN - REACHES PERIHELION ON THE 17th OF SEPTEMBER
Set your alarm for dawn. There is a bright comet in the morning sky. You probably can't see it with the naked eye, but even short exposures with digital cameras are picking up the starlike head and long tail of Comet Nishimura (C/2023 P1):
"This is a 4-second exposure (ISO 1600) from the Cabreja Volcano in Vega de San Mateo on Gran Canaria Island," says photographer Frank A. Rodriguez. "I used a Canon EOS R digital camera. What a nice comet!"
Comet Nishimura is plunging toward the sun for a close encounter inside the orbit of Mercury on Sept. 17th. Increasing heat is causing it to brighten rapidly. Latest estimates of the comet's brightness place it at magnitude +4.5. In a dark sky, this would be visible to the unaided eye, but the morning sky is not dark. Cameras are required to observe the comet; a few seconds of exposure time are enough for a very nice picture.
This morning in Germany, Michael Luy photographed the comet before breakfast:
"Visually it is a real challenge. I needed binoculars to see its shimmering green core," says Luy. "Hanging low in the eastern sky, Comet Nishimura is quickly outshone by the advancing dawn. This may not be a comet for the 'general public,' but it is a nice target for comet hunters and nature lovers."
https://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=08&month=09&year=2023