Thais may be able to catch a glimpse of a newly discovered Nishimura comet on Sunday evening when it comes close to the sun, according to the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Narit).
Narit said C/2023 P1, also known as Nishimura after Japanese amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura, takes 437 years to travel near the Earth.
The comet, a ball of ice and dust, is expected to pass within 125 million kilometres of the Earth on Tuesday, Narit says.
As the comet travels closer to the Earth and the sun at an angle, it will be difficult to spot, Narit says. However, after Friday, the comet will appear in the western sky after sunset and may be observed on Sunday when it travels within 34 million km of the sun, it says.
According to the Comet Observation database, the brightness of the comet will be magnitude 3, making it visible to the naked eye.
Narit said that on Sunday evening, people in Thailand should look for the Virgo constellation, and they have about an hour to observe the comet before it disappears.
As it moves away from the sun, it will become less visible, Narit says.
Observers should also look for a green hue with a long tail, the traits of Comet Nishimura, according to Narit.
Mr Nishimura first spotted the comet on the morning of Aug 11 while taking long-exposure photographs of the sky with a digital camera. He reported what he saw to the Minor Planet Centre, which also confirmed his discovery on Aug 15. It was his third comet discovery after Comet Nakamura-Nishimura-Machholz (C/1994 N1) and Comet Nishimura (C/2021 O1).