Astronomers noticed a big explosion. After him, the comet changed color and a mysterious shadow was added.
Astronomers have been watching the comet with the rather boring name 12P/Pons-Brooks for a long time. However, it is interesting for its size, which would overshadow many a city, and also for its shape, which could remind sci-fi fans of the Millennium Falcon ship from Star Wars. The reason why the comet was under scrutiny is also the fact that it will come very close to Earth, but at the end of 2023, its shape and color have changed significantly.
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The comet is approximately 17 kilometers wide, and in the summer of 2024 we will see the closest approach of a similar body to our planet in the last 70 years. It is a cryovolcanic or cold comet, which consists of an icy mantle and a core made of gas and ice. When a comet absorbs enough sunlight, its frigid interior will overheat, pressure in the core will increase, and the comet’s shell will burst. This is accompanied by a spectacular explosion, after which the nebulous reflection cloud of cryomagma and dust expands, which subsequently makes the comet appear brighter to astronomers as it reflects more sunlight.
The crazy #comet #12P #PonsBrooks has still about 9 mag., a week into its 4th and largest outburst of the apparition: see for links to tons of pictures and other information of interest. (Pictures here by Michael Jäger with 14″, from 18 and 20 November.) pic.twitter.com/X9kAfcxTrb
— Daniel Fischer @[email protected] (@cosmos4u) November 22, 2023
Over the past months, astronomers have already recorded three large eruptions, after which the nebulous cloud expanded into an irregular shape, forming the horns, or, if you will, the front protrusions of the Millennium Falcon. But after the eruption in mid-November 2023, the horns did not appear, and the comet now appears perfectly circular. Amateur astronomer and photographer Eliot Herman, who has been photographing the comet daily since its first eruption, then magazine Space revealed that the comet also took on a green hue, which Science magazine says comets with a high carbon content give off. This is because it glows green when decomposed by sunlight.
In other images of the comet, Herman also noticed a strange dark spot in its colorful tail that looks like a curved gap. However, unlike the distorted dark streak that previously gave the comet horns, experts believe this unusual shape is a shadow cast by leaking cryomagma, according to Spaceweather.com.
Comet Outburst!
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks as captured by Stargazer Efrain Morales Rivera from Puerto Rico,
Known as “The Devil Comet” after spawning Devil like horns during outbursts in 2023, it is 3 times more massive than Mount Everest, 2 Days ago it suddenly brightened 100FOLD… pic.twitter.com/7jBVdDiLy0— Stargazers Nation (@STARGAZERNATION) November 20, 2023
Comet 12P is currently hurtling toward the Sun at a speed of approximately 40,000 miles per hour and is nearing the end of its journey. On April 24, 2024, the comet will reach its closest point to the Sun, or perihelion, before being shot past our home star into the outer solar system, where it will spend most of its orbit. It will probably not return to the inner solar system until 2094. The comet will come closest to Earth on June 2 next year, when it will hopefully be visible to the naked eye.
Source: Space, Space Weather, Brit Astro, Science Magazine
2023-11-25 05:00:28
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