When you can see Comet Nishimura in London this week

Comet Nishimura was discovered in August by Japanese astrophotographer Hideo Nishimura – who it was also named after.

The astrophotographer recorded Comet C/2023 PI when he was taking long-exposure photographs of the sky with a digital camera on August 11.

The newly discovered comet is already visible but tomorrow morning it is set to present people with their best chance to see it with the naked eye.

How to see the Comet Nishimura in London

Londoners will need to get up early on Tuesday, September 12 as Time Out reckons you’ll need to be watching the sky between 4am and 6am.

To get the best view of the comet, you’ll need to “Look towards the Leo constellation in the north.

“If you are in an area with minimal light pollution and obstruction from trees or buildings, there is a chance you will be able to see it with the naked eye.”

The BBC Sky at Night magazine has also tempered expectations about how bright Comet Nishimura may appear in the sky.

It said: “The best we can hope for is that after rounding the Sun and drifting up into the evening sky, P1 will be bright enough to see with the naked eye as an elongated smudge low in the west, as twilight deepens.”

If you don’t get to see the comet with the naked eye on September 12 you may be in with a good shout of seeing it during the early hours of the following morning with binoculars or a telescope.

The comet takes around 437 years to orbit the solar system so you will need to catch a glimpse of it this week if you want to see it at all.