People in Dorset will get their best opportunity to see a newly discovered comet in the sky this week offering what astronomers are calling a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity.

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.

Whilst the comet has been visible through telescopes and binoculars, the early morning of Tuesday, September 12, will give the best chance of seeing it with the naked eye.

This will be a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity as it takes around 437 years to orbit the solar system, so it might be something you don't want to miss.

When is best to see Comet Nishimura in Bournemouth?

If you're in Bournemouth you'll need to be getting up early on Tuesday, September 12 as Time Out reckons you'll need to be watching the sky between 4am and 6am.

In terms of how best to see the comet, they added: "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.

What is a comet?

Comets are celestial objects made of dust and ice that orbit the Sun and are basically leftovers from the initial formation of the solar system.