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Brian Cleveland
@brianrc11

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Nishimura Comet From Astronomy.com: Japanese amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura discovered the new comet August 12 near the star Zeta (ζ) Geminorum in Gemini the Twins, according to Seiichi Yoshida’s page on the object. At that time, the comet was already magnitude 10.4 and closing in on the Sun at a distance of just 1 astronomical unit, or AU (1 AU is the average Earth-Sun distance). Nishimura is continuing into the inner solar system on its way toward perihelion, the closest point in its orbit to the Sun. It will reach that point in less than two weeks, on September 17, when it will swing around our star at a distance of just 0.23 AU — some 40 percent closer to the Sun than the planet Mercury. Along the way, Nishimura is expected to brighten rapidly, potentially reaching magnitude 2. Although that should be an easy naked-eye magnitude, the comet’s low altitude in the Northern Hemisphere means it’s really best seen with binoculars or a telescope. But through those optics, it will dazzle. Keep reading to learn where it is now, when to view it, and what to look for. #comet #space #stars #science #astrophotography #astronomy #nasa #spacex #blueorigin #rocketlab #travel #adventure #jwsp #japan #japanese #cern #physics #scifi #photography #photo