Comet Nishimura & Planet Venus over Slovakia

Comet Nishimura & Planet Venus over Slovakia

This scene would be beautiful even without the comet. By itself, the sunrise sky is an elegant deep blue on high, with faint white stars peeking through, while near the horizon is a pleasing tan. On its own, the foreground hills of eastern Slovakia are appealingly green, with the Zadňa hura and Veľká hora hills in the distance, and with the lights of small towns along the way. Venus, on the far right, appears unusually exquisite, surrounded by a colorful atmospheric corona. However, what attracts the eye most is the comet. On the left side of this composite image, taken just before dawn yesterday morning, is Comet Nishimura. 

On recent mornings around the globe, Comet Nishimura's bright coma and long ion tail make many a morning panoramic photo unusually beautiful. Tomorrow, C/2023 P1 (Comet Nishimura) will pass its nearest to the Earth for about the next 434 years.

Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek/Institute of Physics in Opava

Petr's website: https://www.petrhoralek.com

Institute of Physics in Opava (Czech Republic): https://www.slu.cz/phys/en/

Image Date: Sept. 10, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Sun #Planets #Earth #Venus #Comets #Comet2023P1 #CometNishimura #SolarSystem #Astrophotography #PetrHorálek #HideoNishimura #Astrophotographers #CitizenScience #Slovakia #Slovenská #CentralEurope #Japan #日本 #STEM #Education #APoD