The “Devil’s Comet” with huge “horns” will fly near the Earth. We have been waiting for her for 71 years

Being able to see a comet with the naked eye is quite an opportunity. It is therefore not surprising that each flight of such an object is covered in the media. The next chance to see such an “ice rock” with our own eyes will be in early 2024, when the “Devil’s Comet” will fly past the Earth.

The “Devil’s Comet” with horns flies towards the Sun. We will see it with the naked eye

12/P Pons-Brooks was discovered in 1812 by the French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons. In 1883, it was observed again by the American William Robert Brooks, proving that this object returns to the vicinity of the Sun every 71 years. It is from these scientists that the comet got its official name. It is now commonly called the “Devil comet” in the media because the photos depicting it show a characteristic shape resembling giant horns.

The object is currently approaching the inner part of the Solar System and is currently only observed by astronomers equipped with appropriate large telescopes. On April 21, 2024, the comet will pass through perihelion (the point in the orbit closest to the Sun), passing by our daily star at a distance of approximately 0.78 AU (astronomical unit – 1 AU is the distance of the Earth from the Sun), i.e. close to the distance, which shares the Sun and Venus.

Shortly later, on June 2, 2024, it will be closest to Earth. It will not be very close to our planet (the estimated distance is approximately 232 million km, or approximately 1.55 AU), but due to its very high brightness it should be clearly visible from Earth. Astronomers believe that 12/P Pons-Brooks will have an apparent brightness of as much as magnitude 4.5 or 4.7 in June. This means that the comet should be clearly visible even in simple binoculars, and under a dark sky we can also see it with the naked eye without any major problems. Then the comet will disappear from our sky, but will return near the center of the Solar System in 2095.

Accordingly, the cometary nucleus of the “Devil’s Comet” has a diameter of about 30 km, and its coma (dust and gas envelope) has a size of about 230,000. km. Moreover, the 12/P Pons-Brooks core is characterized by cryovolcanism, i.e. eruptions of ice volcanoes. As the comet gets closer to the Sun, it heats up and the pressure in the core increases. When it exceeds a certain value, its shell bursts and gas, dust and ice are shot into space, enlarging the coma. Such a flare was already observed by researchers on July 20 and October 5. It was the explosion from just over three weeks ago that created the comet’s characteristic gas and dust “horns”.