Though it’s been nicknamed the “devil comet,” there’s no reason to fear Comet 12/P Pons-Brooks as it careens through space and nears a closer orbit of Earth. With a core of dust and gas, the comet is hurling toward us while spewing ice-clouds that, according to some, resemble horns — and that, to others, make the comet look like the famed Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. So mark your calendars: Next spring, a rare mix of conditions could allow us Earthlings to see the devil comet before it disappears from view for another 71 years.
“By observing this more intensely we might resolve this question, and there is a community of observers who are studying this,” amateur astronomer and retired professor University of Arizona professor Eliot Herman told NBC News. “The NASA SOHO space probe captures images from space of comets close to the sun, many per year, but seeing one with the eye close to the sun is impossible unless there is an eclipse, and there will be. … I will be in Texas and hope to see it and photograph it.”
Astronomers will be studying Comet 12/P Pons-Brooks’ horns more closely when it swings past Earth before its slung back into the solar system. The comet’s perihelion (its closest point of orbit to the sun, when the comet will be brightest) will happen on April 21, 2024. Between then and June 2, when the comet’s orbit passes closest to earth, there will be a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. That means the devil comet will be close enough to the sun that it could bright enough — and close enough to the Earth that it could appear large enough — for humans to finally see the comet with the naked eye.
Rae Hodge
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