Sky watchers have the opportunity once or twice in a lifetime to see a comet brighten and then darken as it approaches the sun, giving the appearance of a devil’s horn. There may be.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is hurtling toward its closest approach to the sun in its 71-year orbit, NASA said. Its orbit is as far away as the orbit of Neptune and as close as the orbit of Venus. But because of its tilted orbit, the space agency said there was no chance of it colliding with Earth.
This comet is approximately 19 miles in diameter and has been observed many times over the centuries, most notably due to explosions of gas.
According to Space.com, Jean-Louis Pons, who lived from 1761 to 1831, discovered 37 comets primarily with the help of telescopes and lenses he designed. On July 12, 1812, Pons witnessed what he described as a “shapeless object with no apparent tail,” but over the next month the object, although still dim, became visible to the naked eye. It became brighter.
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Comet Pons-Brooks is seen in a very special three-color composition, showing the comet’s ever-changing ion tail in light blue, its outer coma in green, and the glowing red gas spiraling around the coma. is highlighted. (Image credit and copyright: Jan Erik Vallestad, via nasa.gov)
Then, in August of the same year, the comet became the brightest ever observed and appeared to have a split tail.
Another comet observer, William R. Brooks, lived from 1844 to 1921, Space.com reported. On September 2, 1883, he observed a comet by chance.
It was eventually discovered that Comet Pons and Comet Brooks observed the same comet, despite a 71-year difference, and it was eventually named Comet Pons-Brooks.
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Sky map showing changes in the position of comet 12P/Ponsbrooks during March. As soon as the sky is completely dark, look for the comet in the west-northwest. It decreases as the month progresses. (NASA)
NASA says an explosion of gas and dust is ejected from below the comet’s surface, causing the object to brighten.
As the comet approaches in March and April, explosions of gas can make it bright enough to be visible to the naked eye under dark skies, especially by the end of March.
In images posted to NASA’s Astronomical Photo of the Day page, Comet Pons-Brooks appears to have a light blue tail, a green outer coma, and a swirl of glowing red gas surrounding the coma.
Astronomers said the swirl could be caused by gases ejected by the comet’s slowly rotating core.
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The space agency said those hoping to catch a glimpse of the comet will be able to spot it low in the west-northwest of the sky, near the constellation Pisces, at the end of dusk.
In another rare coincidence, the comet will be approximately 25 degrees from the sun during the total solar eclipse on April 8th, but the moon will block the sun that day, making it difficult to see how bright the comet will appear to those watching the sky. It is unknown whether
