The Green Comet is Coming! Will Texarkana Be Able to See it?

In less than 7 days Texarkanians will get the opportunity of a lifetime when a eerie green comet streaks across the sky. Will you be able to see it?  Reports are saying YES, and you won't have to break out a telescope, this comet should be visible to the naked eye unless it's cloudy.

Comet Nishimura

Not your average space rock, the comet Nishimura also known as Comet C/2023 P1 is composed of ice, dust, gases, and a rocky material.

Comets typically get mistaken for asteroids but the cosmic makeup is somewhat different, according to Earth.com. The green comet sounds more like a superhero because it goes through a transformation as it nears the Sun.

The ice and dust materials begin to vaporize resulting in forming the tail along with a gaseous haze that is seen within the tail known as a coma. The eerie green glow is the result of the transformation that it goes through known as sublimation.

While the interstellar origin remains a mystery a photographer Hideo Nishimura spotted what looked like a green blob in the sky on August 12, 2023. Thus, is where the name of the comet Nishimura comes from because of his discovery.

When it can be seen?

The comet is expected to be closest to planet Earth on September 12, at a distance of 78 million miles. The best time to see this celestial event is about one hour after sunset or the hour just before dawn as you look toward the east-northeast of the sky.

The location of Nishimura can be observed between the constellations of Cancer and Leo around 4 a.m. slightly up and to the left of the morning star, according to NASASpaceNews.

Seeing a comet with the naked eye happens about once a decade because the comet takes 500 years to orbit the solar system. So, mark your calendar Texarkana because if you miss seeing the green comet you won't see it again until the year 2317.

Check out this cool app from earth.com.