Over the next few days, skywatchers will be able to see more than just the bright planet Mercury and April's total solar eclipse. Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, sometimes known as the "devil comet," will be visible in the night sky for the next few days and might emerge during the April 8th total solar eclipse. Since Pons-Brooks only completes one orbit around the sun every 71 years, observing it is usually an opportunity that comes only once in a lifetime.
Pons-Brooks is a ball of ice and rock that is 10.5 miles wide. In comparison, it will be twice as large as the Mount Everest. It is currently traveling towards our sun with an extremely elliptical or stretched-out orbit. It features a frozen shell, or nucleus, encircling a core composed of solid ice, gas, and dust. A coma, or a cloud of frozen material, progressively seeps out of the comet's center and covers the nucleus.
Pons-Brooks is cryovolcanic, unlike most other comets. It frequently erupts when the nucleus's fractures are opened by sun radiation. As a result, frozen cryomagma under extreme pressure erupts into space. The surrounding cloud of frozen particles enlarges and seems brighter than usual when this happens.
For the first time in 69 years, Pons-Brooks erupted violently in July 2023, leaving behind two separate gas and ice trails that resemble a pair of devil horns. It has persisted in erupting rather regularly.
When will it be visible?
Pons-Brooks may become visible to the unaided eye during the next few weeks as it passes through the inner solar system. It will stay that way until April 2 when it moves closer to the sun and disappears from view in the pitch-black night sky. The evenings of 30th and 31st March are considered to be the best time to see the comet as it will be nearest to the Earth at that time. On June 2, when it moves away from the sun, it will be at its closest to Earth. It will be roughly 139.4 million miles away and presents no known hazard to Earth.
It is expected to become even more active in the upcoming weeks and be visible to the unaided eye with a maximum brightness magnitude of about 4.0, according to SETI Institute postdoctoral scholar Ariel Graykowski. The appearance appears brighter the lower the magnitude. It won't be very noticeable in the sky because "the limit for naked eye objects in dark, moonless skies is around 6 magnitudes," according to Graykowski.
Where should we look?
It is most seen in the early evening in the Northern Hemisphere toward the west-northwest horizon. Pons-Brooks is located low in the northwest sky, close to the Pisces constellation. It should look like a blazing ball of ice, trailed by the forks of its horns.
An hour or so after sunset, the comet should be visible to the unaided eye low in the west. As it approaches the sun, it will become somewhat brighter. You want to find a place where you can see the western horizon unhindered and where there are no city lights. Using binoculars might be a good idea as the comet might be difficult to find without them.
The brightest planet Venus will become visible on one side of the sun as the sky grows darker. Jupiter, the second-brightest planet in the solar system, is located on the other side. Furthermore, you should be able to see Comet Pons-Brooks closer to Jupiter but between Jupiter and the sun if it is sufficiently bright.
Remember this is your only chance to see it because it won't be seen again until 2097.
Prabir Rudra
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Please comment what you think about the article. Also let me know If you have any queries.