Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, popularly known as “Satan” for its horned appearance, is now visible in the night sky in the Northern Hemisphere.
The comet, according to data collected by NASA, is very popular among professional and amateur astronomers because of its stunning explosions of gas and dust. It has an orbital period of about 71 years and a core about 30 kilometers wide.
“Diablo” was previously observed during space missions across the inner solar system, allowing astronomers to study its behavior and properties until verifying that it, like other comets with a very similar appearance and behavior, is composed of ice, dust and dust. Rocky material, and when it approaches the sun, heat causes the comet's ice to transform from a solid state to a gaseous state.
Information issued by NASA reveals that gas is leaking from the surface of the comet, carrying dust with it, and that it forms a large cloud and a tail that is pushed away from the sun by the solar wind.
Its visibility varies greatly, because when it is very active and close to Earth it can appear very bright, and other times it can appear only dimly.
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It is possible that the comet will reach its closest point to Earth in June 2024, although at that time it will not be possible to observe the comet from the northern hemisphere, which is possible from the end of March and during the first days of March. April, before continuing its orbit and not returning to Earth until 2095.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is named after two of the most prolific comet observers in history: French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons (1761-1831) and British-American William Robert Brooks (1844-1921). The “devil” was recognized by both.
NASA stressed the scientific importance of these objects, as they are “ancient cosmic icebergs”, about 4.6 billion years old, and formed at the same time as the Sun, Earth, and other planets.
The diameter of the comet nucleus usually ranges between 1 and 50 kilometers, and is composed of dust and ice, which partially transforms from a solid state to a gaseous state when the sun heats the comet. Collisions of comets and asteroids may be responsible for comet collisions. Part of the water found on Earth and icy deposits believed to be at the bottom of craters on the Moon.
The most distinctive and best feature of a comet is its tails, according to the same source, which specified that these tails are the cause of the annual meteor showers, during which the Earth passes through the dust clouds left by comets.
12P/Pons-Brooks is a “near-Earth comet,” meaning it orbits the Sun in less than 200 years and comes close enough to the Sun to cross Earth's orbit.
Near-Earth comets are much rarer than near-Earth asteroids, because according to NASA data, there are 122 known “near-Earth” comets, but there are approximately 35,000 asteroids.
With information from EFE.
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