Explosive "Devil Comet" is at its brightest before disappearing on Sunday - how to see it
It may be your last chance to take an overview until 2095, according to officials.
2024 solar eclipse was difficult to beat in terms of celestial events this year. Many of us have ventured outside by wearing protective glasses to have an overview, while others have had the chance to discover the strange darkness of the whole (when the moon completely blocks the face of sun). But 2024 is a great year for celestial events, because the explosive "Devil Comet" should be the best and the brightest in the coming days. Read more to find out how you can see it - maybe it's your last chance for over 70 years.
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The comet has a formal name and two nicknames.
If you wonder how " Devil's comet "I got his name, it is not due to something really sinister. AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB
According to NASA, the official name of the comet is COMETE 12P / PONS-BROOKS , and it is "one of the most brilliant periodic comets" the brightest ". He received his diabolical nickname last year after an explosion gave the comet an" asymmetrical appearance "as if she had horns.
But it is not his only nickname. The European Space Agency (ESA) also nicknamed the 12p / Pons-Brooks le " Mother of the dragons "Comet, thanks to the fact that it is" the likely parent body of "kappa-draconids".
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Go to sunset to see the "Devil's comet".
The Count 12p / Pons-Brook flies near the earth every 71 years, and as it gets closer to the sun, it becomes more and more brilliant in the night sky.
While early April was suggested as the ideal moment to see the "Comet Devil", you may not have lack Still, according to Live Science. According to NASA data, the comet will be at her closest to the sun —144 million kilometers away - Sunday April 21. This point is officially known as Périhelion.
In this position, the comet will be much brighter and easier to see in the Western sky. The best views are probably just after the sun dives under the horizon. An hour after sunset, the comet will be too weak to see, according to NASA. Two hours after sunset, the comet takes place.
The stars must align you to see the comet with the naked eye.
At the beginning of April, the "Devil's comet" was visible with small telescopes and binoculars. And although its position in the night sky should facilitate seeing it this weekend, doing it with the naked eye could be a section. Live Science notes that the COMETE 12P / PONSBROOKS has a magnitude of 5.9, with lower amplitudes indicating more shiny objects. For reference, the most brilliant star in the night sky of the earth (Sirius) has a magnitude of -1,46, indicates the output.
"Despite the fact that the comet must be the brightest because she is closest to the sun, she is quite far from us," Franc Maloney , an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, told Live Science. "Compets can present major changes in the brightness when the sun warms them, but unless something happens, the comet will only be visible in twins or a telescope."
If the comet has another explosion - like that of last summer which gave her her horns - the situation with visibility could change.
Another explosion may not be too bewildered either. According to Live Science, the horns that the "devil's comet" worn in the past were not identified in recent observations. This means that the comet has probably lost "notch" of ice in its nucleus which made the horns possible.
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You may not have another chance of seeing a 12p / pons-brown venage.
The Comet 12p / Pons -Brooks can shine its brightest Sunday - and you will want to go out and see while you can.
According to Live Science, comets generally seem the brightest when they get closest to the earth. While the "Devil's comet" will do so in June, those of the northern hemisphere will not be able to see it because of its trajectory. At that time, it was only visible from the southern hemisphere.
Once it is officially too weak to see in July, we should not expect 2095, according to ESA.