For the past few weeks, a newly discovered comet has been visiting our inner solar system. Since then, it was visible to us until about September 21 – before it drifted back out to space. It was discovered just last month on August 12 by 74 year old Japanese astronomer Hideo Nishimura, whom the comet was named after.
Senior Jordan Hernandez described it as, “A once in a lifetime opportunity for us to see in our skies.”
Comets are nothing more than evasive, unpredictable, dusty clumps of ancient ice and rock that orbit the sun. They are leftover debris that came from the creation of the solar system. The orbits of comets are very elliptical, and are shaped like very stretched out ovals. Some reach extremely far, even out to Pluto or beyond. Out there, things move very slowly because gravity is weaker. Because of this, they spend most of their time coasting slowly in the further reaches of the solar system, and they take many years to return to the sun. Nishimura, for example, is set to return in the mid-25th century. When comets get closer to the sun, they warm up and begin to undergo a strange type of melting. This causes them to expel gasses, also known as “outgassing.” Comets’ outgassing is what gives them their brilliant, colorful tails. Although, if the sun causes too much outgassing, comets will shrink, chip off and eventually wither until they “die” from solar radiation. If a comet survives this however, it will return to the deep solar system where it will grow its ice and composition back. Fortunately though, on September 19, it was confirmed that Nishimura has survived the sun’s wrath, and will return in approximately the year of 2458.
“I got so mad, I wasn’t able to see it in time. Guess I’ll just have to wait a few centuries,” said senior Elijah Bartholomew.
Due to the recent discovery of Nishimura, little is known about its nature, but very accurate estimations have been made. Because of its close proximity to the sun, Nishimura was only visible around sunrise and sunset. Faintly visible to the naked eye, it has lurked in the Leo constellation for most of its visit towards the sun. On its way back to outer space, it will traverse the Virgo constellation. Nishimura is green to the naked eye, but when seen through cameras or other photographic equipment, it appears white. The reason for this occurrence is unknown, but it is assumed to be rich in magnesium, which gives it that lustrous green haze.
