People across Scotland are being treated to yet another fantastic astronomical event as a "once-in-a-lifetime" comet appears in our night skies.
Comet Nishimura (Comet C/2023 PI), which was discovered in August, was named by Japanese astrophotographer Hideo Nishimura.
The recently discovered comet will be visible across Scotland next week, giving people the chance to catch of glimpse of this spectacle.
Things to see in the sky in 2023
When will Comet Nishimura be visible across Scotland?
According to Professor Brad Gibson, next week will present people with the best chance to catch of glimpse of the comet in Scotland.
Tuesday, September 12 is being tipped as the day that Scots will be able to enjoy this celestial event to its fullest.
Professor Gibson says: “The comet takes 500 years to orbit the solar system, Earth takes one year, and the outer planets can take many decades.
“Halley’s Comet, which caused much interest during its last nearby visit to Earth in 1986, takes 76 years to orbit the solar system.
“So, to say this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Nishimura isn’t an exaggeration.”
How do I see Comet Nishimura as it becomes visible across Scotland?
According to the BBC Sky At Night Magazine, those wanting to catch of glimpse of Comet Nishimura will have to get up bright and early and be ready for around 4am.
Stargazers should then set their binoculars, cameras and telescopes to the northeast where the comet is to make itself visible.
Comet Nishimura is not far from Venus as it heads for its close encounter with the Sun.
🌙✨Celestial Events in September 2023 🌙✨
— Star Walk (@StarWalk) September 1, 2023
We've put together a list of cool things happening in the sky almost every night this month. How many of these awesome sky events can you see? 🤔https://t.co/vhfb01wAIb
Met Office weather forecast for Scotland as Comet Nishimura becomes visible?
The Met Office long-range weather forecast states that despite rather warm conditions recently, heavy thundery rain is likely throughout next week.
Conditions across the country are expected to be "more changeable" with temperatures likely to drop to a more normal level for this time of year.
Areas of low pressure are also expected to pass across the north of the UK, seeing cloudier and wetter conditions.
Comet Nishimura is expected to become visible to the naked eye in Scotland on Tuesday, September 12.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here