Current:Home > MyEverything to know about the 'devil comet' expected to pass by Earth in the summer -Wealth Empowerment Zone
Everything to know about the 'devil comet' expected to pass by Earth in the summer
View
Date:2025-04-12 11:01:21
An enormous "devil comet" will be passing by Earth for the first time in more than seven decades, astronomers say.
The comet, officially known as 12P/Pons-Brooks, got its nickname due to the formation of two "horns" made up of ice and gas.
Experts tell ABC News the comet has been unusually bright compared to others. The general public will be able to see the comet pass through the sky with just binoculars or even the naked eye next year.
MORE: Rare, green comet to pass by Earth Wednesday
Why is it called a devil comet?
Comets are made up of dust, frozen gases, ice and rocks bound together following the formation of the solar system.
Traditionally, as they get closer to the sun, they get slowly warmer and brighter. The ice turns to gas and pulls the dust away, which forms the traditional tail associated with comets.
12P/Pons-Brooks, however, has been undergoing huge increases in brightness with two major eruptions, the first occurring in July 2023 and another earlier this month.
"These outbursts … [have] brought this object from being dim enough that you can only really see it with big professional telescopes to, in a couple of cases, something people can see from their backyard," Dr. Theodore Kareta, a postdoctoral researcher at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, told ABC News.
"There aren't that many comets that have outbursts, these sudden increases in brightness, that are so strong, and even fewer that have them a couple of times during one orbit. It seems like Pons-Brooks ... is just really active," he continued.
The shape of 12P/Pons-Brooks's coma -- the fuzzy cloud around the nucleus of the comet -- has an unusual shape -- two "devil horns" -- giving the celestial body its nickname.
Dr. Eliot Herman, a retired professor at the University of Arizona and an amateur astronomer, who has captured images of the comet with a remote telescope, said it will be interesting to see if 12P/Pons-Brooks has more eruptions over the next few months and if they result in the same "devil horns" seen now.
When will it pass by Earth?
The comet is not usually visible, but that could change next year when a total solar eclipse occurs on April 8, 2024, passing over Mexico, the United States and Canada.
MORE: Asteroid that passes nearby could hit Earth in the future, NASA says
During that event, it has the potential to be very bright and be seen with binoculars or the naked eye as long as there are no clouds.
Around the same time, 12P/Pons-Brooks will be at perihelion, the point in the orbit at which it's closest to the sun, on April 21, 2024.
Then 12P/Pons-Brooks will make its closest approach to Earth on June 2, offering scientists and the general public another opportunity to see the comet.
Should we be concerned?
12P/Pons-Brooks was first discovered in 1812 by Jean-Louis Pons and was spotted again in 1883 by William Robert Brooks.
It is a Halley-type comet, meaning it has an orbital period of between 20 and 200 years. In the case of 12P/Pons-Brooks, it passes by Earth every 71 years.
"This means that the last time anyone really observed this thing was in 1954," Kareta said. "So this is part of the reason that the general public hasn't heard about this thing before. And the last time people were [observing] it, they were doing it with photographic plates, they were doing it with binoculars, they were doing it with their eyes."
Scientists have estimated that it has a diameter of at least 17 kilometers, or 10.5 miles.
Despite its menacing sounding nickname and size, experts say 12P/Pons-Brooks doesn't pose any threat to humans.
Herman said this event presents a special opportunity to observe a celestial body.
"People have historically looked up at the sky since people first became self-aware, and being amazed at the events that occur above us, is something that goes back far before civilization," he said. "The events in the sky touches all, I think, in a very historic way. The universe is a big place and a lot of amazing things are occurring all around us. It's worth getting out there and just looking at it and be awestruck."
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- Security software helps cut down response times in school emergencies
- Dad who killed daughter by stuffing baby wipe down her throat is arrested: Police
- Trump's 4 indictments in detail: A quick-look guide to charges, trial dates and key players for each case
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Paris Jackson slams 'abuse' from Michael Jackson superfans over birthday post for King of Pop
- UNC-Chapel Hill faculty member killed, suspect in custody after campus lockdown
- Wagner Group leader killed in plane crash buried in private funeral
- Euphoria's Hunter Schafer Says Ex Dominic Fike Cheated on Her Before Breakup
- Myon Burrell, who was sent to prison for life as a teen but set free in 2020, is arrested
Ranking
- Giants, Lions fined $200K for fights in training camp joint practices
- When's the best time to sell or buy a used car? It may be different than you remember.
- Critical fire weather in arrives Northern California’s interior; PG&E cuts power to 8,400 customers
- Sinéad O'Connor's children express gratitude for support a month after Irish singer's death
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- HBO shines a light on scams in 'Telemarketers' and 'BS High'
- Texas drought exposes resting place of five sunken World War I ships in Neches River
- Rapper 50 Cent cancels Phoenix concert due to extreme heat that has plagued the region
Recommendation
How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
Lionel Messi, Inter Miami face Nashville SC in MLS game: How to watch
El Chapo asks judge to let wife and daughters visit him in supermax prison
Idalia projected to hit Florida as Category 4 hurricane with ‘catastrophic’ storm surge
Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
A North Carolina court justice wants to block an ethics panel probe, citing her free speech
A robot to help you order pancakes? IHOP enters the AI game with online order suggestions
Bachelor Nation's Jade Roper Pens Message to Late Baby Beau After Miscarriage