Comet C/2023 P1 Nishimura

[verreli]

Could hit mag 2 in the next month which would be naked eye from dark sky sites.  Morning object.  Currently mag 8.5 but brightening fast.

[pjsmith_6198]

Here is some chart info and a magnitudes graph: http://www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/2023P1/2023P1.html   

It's currently  in Gemini and it will go through Cancer, Leo, and into Virgo towards the end of September.     According to SkyTools 4 ,  currently it gets about 20 degrees above the horizon before the  morning twilight gets too light.  As the comet gets  brighter ,  it will get lower and lower  on the horizon and more difficult to see.    Don't wait until  the comet gets bright to go and look for it.  It  won't  be visible for us to see  even if it's mag 2.   Try and take a look as  soon as the  weather  cooperates.   I may get a clear morning Wednesday.  I'll give it a try then.  

 

Phil

[mcrowle]

I got up at 4am to try and view the comet this morning, but it quickly became obvious that it wouldn't clear the valley side (as well as local obstructions) from my backyard observing position before light. It then suddenly clouded up at 04:45, and I went back to bed!

My plan now, if I have another clear morning soon, is to head out with binoculars (and perhaps the Sky Watcher ED 80mm) along a local footpath which has a less obstructed ENE horizon.

Good luck, all! Mike.

Edited August 23, 2023 by mcrowle

[maw lod qan]

I was out for about an hour and a half with my 20x80 binoculars. 

In the general area Sky Safari shows near Gemini, I could find a faint blue speck, but no tail.

I'm not sure if I'm going to claim seeing it yet.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll set up a camera to get a long exposure of the area. To use my scope, it will have to come out of area 51.

[pjsmith_6198]

I went out this morning to look  with my 12 inch dob ,  but I didn't have much  luck.   I had a  chart from SkyTools 4  and was sure I was in the right  location,  but it was  hazy and very humid.   There was  a couple of times  I thought I might have seen it, but I think it was my EP  beginning to fog up.    I looked until the twilight was obviously too bright to see the comet.

However I did get a good look at Jupiter.   I  case of bad  transparency  and good seeing.   

I'll try again  the next clear morning.

 

Phil

[mcrowle]

Finally got to see P1 Nishimura this morning, after several attempts that failed due to poor planning and/or cloud.

I got up at 4am once again and headed straight out to a local footpath with a low horizon in the relevant direction (ENE), as the comet’s location is not accessible from my back garden. This time I’d prepared by creating a screenshot of its location as shown in Heavens-above.com.

I had 7 x 50 binocs with me, plus a SkyWatcher 80mm ED refractor, but In the event I forgot to try the binocs and went straight for the 80mm. I found the comet quite easily, with reference to the screenshot, though it was not particularly prominent - no doubt due to its low elevation and the encroaching dawn. P1 appeared rounded, quite condensed, and with no hint of a tail.

Regards, and clear skies, Mike.

Edited August 28, 2023 by mcrowle

[andrew63]

Had my first view of  Comet P1 Nishimura this morning, In a beautiful pre dawn sky.  Around 4.30am in my 4" refractor x19 in was very obvious, like a bloated star or bright globular. I could still see it at 4.55, with u1 Cnc and 28 Cnc in the field of view. I'd say it was around 7 mag. and just lovely to see Orion and the Pleiades riding high!

[Littleguy80]

Got up at 3:30 to catch this comet. Compact and bright in the Tak FC100DF. I views it up to 148x mag with the Pentax XW 5mm. Responded really well to the increased mag. Really glad I got up to see this. Looking forward to seeing it more as it brightens.

[mcrowle]

Another view of P1 Nishimura this morning, this time via 7 x 50 binoculars, from the same location as last Monday morning, not far from home. Again I used a screenshot from Heavens-above .com for reference.

The comet was definitely brighter, though of course it’s now fighting light from the waning gibbous moon, as well as its increasingly low elevation! There was also some thin cloud in that area of the sky. A series of short exposures with a DSLR and 135mm lens on a star tracker revealed a faint tail, though this was not visible via the binocs.

Regards, Mike

Edited September 3, 2023 by mcrowle
Typo

[CentaurZ]

Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) is currently at magnitude +9.3. Based on JPL parameters, it might peak at magnitude +5.4 when it reaches perihelion at 0.2252 AU on 2023 SEP 17.  

The comet will pass 0.8378 AU from Earth on 2023 Sep 12. It was discovered 2023 AUG 11 by H. Nishimura in Japan.

 

Edited September 11, 2023 by CentaurZ

[CentaurZ]

And here's my Nishimura equatorial chart.

 

 

Edited September 7, 2023 by CentaurZ

[verreli]

Currently Mag 5.5 and heading towards Mag 3.3 at closest approach on 12 Sept (1 week today).  Not much of a dust tail though.

[Nyctimene]

Spotted the comet for the first time this morning 04h 50min CEST with the APM 16x70. Starting in the astronomical twilight from Talitha, I found the comet after a five minutes star-hop deep down in the NE. Small, but distinct; magnitude about 5.4 (fainter than Lambda Leonis (4.3 mag) close by, but brighter than HR 3804 (6.3), using the SIDGWICK approach). Narrow and short tail. Conspicuous green hue, reminding me of comet Holmes. Small, but rewarding; will try to spot it with the 8" f/4 tomorrow.

Stephan

 

Edited September 6, 2023 by Nyctimene

[CentaurZ]

Here's my ephemeris for Nishimura. The data are decimalized to ease interpolation. The magnitude predictions have been calculated from current JPL parameters. They are often conservative, and better estimates may be supplied by observers.

 

Edited September 7, 2023 by CentaurZ

[Nyctimene]

Had another look at comet Nishimura this morning from 04h 50min to 05h 40min CEST with the 16x70 binos and the 8" f/4 Hofheim traveldob. With the 8" at 27x mag (30 mmf/77° Wild-Heerbrugg), the comet appeared small and round, with a coma diameter of about 4 arc min; DC= 5-6. No false nucleus, nor inner structure details, even with increasing magnifications of 64x resp. 128x (12.5 mmf/82° Docter + 2x Abbe Barlow). Magnitude of the coma 5.3 (compared to g Leonis). Short tail of about 10-15 arc min. The greenish hue was less distinct than yesterday. With the binos, the view was slightly less conspicuous than before (observed later in the morning). At 05.30, a plane crossed the FoV in the binos, and at the same moment, three Starlink satellites appeared - a nice spectacle at the session's end.

Thanks for reading

Stephan

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Got up early this morning (4:15), and went to a dark spot north of the city of Groningen. Venus was above the horizon, but rather worryingly red, due to some thin cloud near the eastern horizon. I got out the Helios LightQuest 16x80s and tried my luck on comets 2P (Encke), and 103P (Hartley), but no luck in the bright moonlight. I will try them with a telescope later. As it was rising, Venus turned a healthier colour, so I focused my attention on Leo's head. I spotted a compact, fuzzy blob, with the faintest hint of thin gas tail, and the slightest green tinge close to epsilon Leonis. I first wondered whether it might be a star made blurry by the haze on the horizon, but all the other objects in the FOV were pinpoint. In averted vision, I kept catching tantalizing hint of a thin straight tail, and the coma stayed obstinately fuzzy, so I reckon that is comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) bagged, especially because it was in exactly the right spot according to the map from comet chasing. Comet number 36 bagged. I had another go at Encke and Hartley, but no luck. The 6" F/5 Schmidt-Newton might fare better, all the more so in less moonlight.

[Paul M]

I had a look at 04:30 yesterday morning from a high vantage point at my work site but found Venus to be a faint red spot. Just to confirm the negative result, I scanned the area with my ickle 8 x 40's but couldn't find a single star in the sickle so that was that. Probably my one and only atempt.

[Simon Pepper]

I had a look at 5am today Venus was blatant and clear but I couldn’t make out the comet I think I may have left it too long. I will try again tomorrow at 4:30 🙏

[HaleBopp2007]

I'll try to shoot the comet tomorrow. The situation is challenging thanks to the twilight, so I'll just hope for the best and maybe I'll get a nice shot

[Nyctimene]

Had another look at comet Nishimura yesterday morning with the 5.1" Heritage Flextube. Extremely deep down in the ESE, but well visible at 25x mag. Slightly brighter than g Leonis, about 4.8 - 5.0 mag. The tail was almost invisible. This morning, again from 05.00 to 5.30 CEST, with the 16x70 binos, I spotted the comet in the lion's neck, not brighter than yesterday, with a 15-20 arc min plasma tail, only visible with AV. The green hue was more distinct than yesterday.

Stephan

[maw lod qan]

I went to another spot just a mile away to get a lower horizon than my yard.

I was disappointed that as clear as it was, I couldnt find the comet in my binoculars. 

Using Heavens Above, I scanned low and to the left of Venus,  which was very brilliant. That for my location put me looking to the NNE.

Venus was up at least 25° or more.

I even tried some images of the area, but nothing. The sky was good enough that before I left,  I turned the camera up and with the same settings could get Andromeda faintly in a widefield.

Maybe I was a little early being there was not even a hint of glow from the sun.

After the rains we have had the mosquitoes were horrendous!

I'll try again Wednesday morning.

[dd999]

I went out two nights ago at 4:30am. Venus, like usual, easy to see but even with my bins I still couldn't see the comet.

I had planned to go somewhere darker at 5am tomorrow morning just after it rises, but with the disappointing results had here - and 50% cloud coverage predicted - not sure I'll bother

 

Edited September 10, 2023 by dd999