It’s a unique astronomical spectacle that won’t happen again for 437 years! Discovered less than a month ago by Japanese amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura, Comet C/2023 P1 Nishimura will peak in the coming days, with this weekend arguably one of the best times to observe it. Indeed, this new comet, of which there is no trace in the astronomical archives and of which we still only know the trajectory, is about to reach the point of its orbit closest to the Sun (perihelion), on September 18. 2023, her long shiny hair developing as the heat of the star sublimates her ice mixed with dust, making them pass directly from the solid state to the gaseous state.
But this passage to perihelion is also the moment of all the dangers since it regularly happens that comets, small agglomerates of rocks and ice with uncertain cohesion, then break up under the effect of its gravity. After that, move on, there’s nothing left to see! In short, you have to know how to seize the moment, especially since the French weather will be largely favorable over the next two days. But then how do you go about it?
The ideal will be to stay as far away as possible from any light pollution because if C/2023 P1 Nishimura is a very bright comet, the fact that it is located in the axis of the Sun significantly complicates its observation. This is also the reason why it was detected so late, on August 11.