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Did Nishimura give a boost to the Sigma-Hydrid meteors?

skay décembre 09, 2023

Nishimura and the Sigma-Hydrid meteors

Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) burst into our consciousness in August of 2023. It never got as bright as some hoped, but it still made a glorious target for astrophotographers. But is there still a chance to see parts of Comet Nishimura? Yes, only not as the comet itself, but instead as the dust it left behind burns up in our atmosphere. Astronomers think Nishimura may be the parent comet of an annual meteor shower known as the Sigma-Hydrids. This minor annual shower is active each year between December 9 and 12. Scientists will be closely monitoring the shower this year to see if there’s an uptick in meteors. And it might be worth it for us to go out and look, too!

So, if Nishimura is indeed related to the Sigma-Hydrids, then the comet might have “refilled” its path with icy comet particles. While this is normally a very quiet shower, it might be more active this year.

The video below is from December 2022, taken in the Caribbean. It’s a Sigma-Hydrid meteor, a possible Nishimura-related meteor!

Videos of Nishimura

However, professional observatories that peer at the sun have caught the comet in their images. You’ll find some amazing video of the comet by the sun on September 17, toward the end of the video above, or in the tweet below.

Comet Nishimura – that great icy ball moving through space, which so many have captured on film – was closest to Earth on September 12. It was then closest to the sun (perihelion) on September 17.

Meanwhile, the comet is also expected to reappear in our dawn skies toward the end of 2023. But by then it’ll be too distant, and too dim, to view, as it sweeps farther away. But we may get to see some of what it left behind in December, however, with the Sigma Hydrid meteor shower! Read on to learn more about it.

The story of comet Nishimura

Hideo Nishimura of Kakegawa, Japan, was photographing the night sky on August 11 and 12, 2023, when he captured a new comet that now bears his name: comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura). In fact, the comet was hiding in the sun’s glare before Nishimura picked it up in his images.

It continued to brighten as it closed in on the sun (perihelion was September 17). Later, after passing closest to Earth on September 12, it emerged low in the evening sky. Some saw it with binoculars in the western evening twilight. Now, it’s too close to the sun for observing, and it will stay that way until it’s far away and too dim to see again.

Nishimura: Blue trail on the left and bright planet on the right in early morning twilight. City lights below.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Petr Horalek in Zahradne, Slovakia, made this composite image of new comet Nishimura (left) and Venus, the brightest planet, on September 9, 2023, when the comet was in the morning sky. Thank you, Petr! Now, the comet has moved to the evening sky, and early sightings suggest it has brightened.

A local comet

Moreover, on September 1, 2023, NASA/JPL made new orbital calculations that indicated that comet Nishimura orbits the sun every 435 years, which suggests this is a “local comet” from our solar system and not an interstellar comet.

Closest approach to Earth occurred on September 12, 2023, when the comet passed 78 million miles (125 million km) from Earth.

Perihelion – or closest approach to the sun – was on September 17, 2023, at 27 million miles (43 million km) from our star.

In fact, during perihelion, comet Nishimura passed closer to the sun than Mercury’s orbit.

Complex diagram of grid with sun at center and circle for Earth's orbit, and curving path of the comet.
Path of new comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) around the sun. In this chart from Guy Ottewell, the grid lines are 1 AU (1 Earth-sun distance) apart. Stalks on the comet’s path mark 1-month intervals. Red lines connect the comet and Earth, and the comet and the sun, at their closest. Does the path of the comet through space match that of the Sigma-Hydrid meteor shower? Image via Guy Ottewell. Used with permission.
Sky chart showing boundaries of constellations and a black line arcing through, which is the comet's path.
View larger. | Here’s the path of comet Nishimura, largely through the zodiacal constellations. The comet climbed into the sky’s Northern Hemisphere on March 28. It was in conjunction with the sun (behind the sun) on June 15. Then, it ascended northward through the ecliptic plane on August 22. It was farthest north (declination about 24 degrees) on September 4. Image via Guy Ottewell. Used with permission.

Sightings of comet Nishimura

Bottom line: Comet Nishimura may be the parent comet to the Signma-Hydrid meteor shower, which peaks between December 9 and 12. Will the shower be more active this year? The only way to know is to go look!

See photos of comet Nishimura from the EarthSky community

Via:

NASA

Harvard

IAU Minor Planet Center

Star Walk

The post Did Nishimura give a boost to the Sigma-Hydrid meteors? first appeared on EarthSky.

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