A “devil comet”, twice the size of Mount Everest, is heading towards Earth but probably poses no threat to humanity, according to an astronomer.
“It may be bright enough that you can see it with the naked eye or with binoculars, but that’s not because it’s going to be very close,” Teddy Kareta, a postdoctoral researcher at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, told Insider. “It’s because he’s generally very bright.”
Better known in the scientific community as 12P/Pons-Brooks, the so-called “Devil Comet” was first discovered in 1812 before being seen again in 1883, SkyLive reported.
It is known as a periodic comet with an orbital period of approximately 71 years.
It is also considered one of 20 other comets with an active ice volcano, according to the British Astronomical Association.
Cold volcanic comets contain a mixture of ice, dust and gas known as cryomagma, and are surrounded by gas escaping from the interior, Live Science reported.
The comet will reach its brightest point for Earthlings next year in mid-April, when it will be approximately 232 million kilometers, or 144,158,116 miles, from Earth.
A “devil comet”, twice the size of Mount Everest, is heading towards Earth but probably poses no threat to humanity, according to an astronomer. fake images
“There is a chance that Pons-Brooks will be bright enough to see with the naked eye next spring, but it will almost certainly be bright enough to see even with a small set of binoculars or a garden telescope. The big space news next April will obviously be the total solar eclipse, so people should consider marking their calendars to try to see the comet in case they don’t get as much news,” Kareta told Fox News Digital.
The astronomer noted that comets are “notoriously unpredictable” when it comes to measuring how bright they will be when they approach Earth, arguing that it is a “wait and see” moment for sky watchers.
The comet earned the nickname “demon” in July when astronomers detected “horns” around its nucleus and some compared it to the Millennium Falcon spacecraft in “Star Wars,” Forbes responded at the time.
The so-called “Devil Comet” was first discovered in 1812 before being seen again in 1883, according to reports. Reuters
Kareta explained that the horns are actually tails of gas and dust from unusual outbursts that scientists are still studying to understand.
The astronomer told Insider that outbursts occur when “comets suddenly become much more active” and expel gas and dust at a higher rate.
“The comet brightens very quickly and then fades again until it reaches the brightness it had before,” he told the outlet. “And in Pons-Brooks, these are really, really bright, really big outbursts. And this is what makes this comet so interesting to scientists.”
Astronomer Teddy Kareta noted that comets are “notoriously unpredictable” when it comes to measuring how bright they will be when they approach Earth. AP The astronomer told Insider that outbursts occur when “comets suddenly become much more active” and expel gas and dust at a higher rate. Tryfonov – stock.adobe.com
Kareta advised that people follow any updates on the comet in the months leading up to its expected appearance in the sky.
Astronomers estimated that the comet’s nucleus extends 12.4 miles or about twice the size of Mount Everest.
According to Kareta, the comet is huge compared to other fireballs, which typically fall between 0.6 and 1.8 miles wide.
“We know it’s big. We know that it is an atypical case. We know it’s rare,” Kareta told Insider, adding that he believes “a lot of people are really excited about” the comet.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn