The path of the comet Nishimura through the Solar System in August-September 2023. On August 11, Japanese amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura detected a bright object very close to the Sun. No one had seen it before because the object was lost in the glare of our star. And, exciting news, it turned out to be a brand-new bright comet! On August 15, the Minor Planet Center officially confirmed the discovery and named the comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura). This comet should be visible to the naked eye by September 11. The comet is currently in the constellation Gemini. It has reached a magnitude of 9.4 and is gradually getting brighter. The comet’s growing tail is now nearly 8' long. C/2023 P1 can be seen in an amateur 6-inch telescope for a few hours before dawn. On September 18, C/2023 P1 will reach its closest point to the Sun, called perihelion. It will be really close to our star, at a distance of about 0.9 AU from it. At that time, C/2023 P1 could be as bright as 3.2 magnitude, which is visible to the naked eye. The comet will be located only around 12° away from the Sun in the sky, so you won’t have much time to observe it. Spot C/2023 P1 at sunset in the constellation Virgo. People in the Northern Hemisphere will have the best view. There is still a possibility that the comet will fall apart as it reaches its closest point to the Sun, so keep following it. By mid-October, C/2023 P1 will fade back to telescope visibility as it moves away from the Sun. In a few months, by February 2024, another bright comet, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), will enter the scene. The newly discovered C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) comet may reach naked-eye visibility by mid-September. Don’t miss your chance to see it! Download a stargazing app like Star Walk 2 or Sky Tonight that can help you find the comet in the sky even right now. - @sclarkayn