2023-10-21 06:00:30
Some will see an image of a ship straight out of the Star Trek universe, or why not the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. Unless it is a simple comet… retorted.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brook (12P) photographed on October 8, with “horns” clearly visible in the comet’s coma.
Credit: Comet Chasers/Richard Miles
A remarkable cosmic phenomenon is intriguing astronomers: a cryovolcanic comet named 12P/Pons-Brooks has been unleashed into space for the second time in four months. With each explosion, a mysterious pair of “horns” appear in its cloud of ice and gas.
Comet 12P has a solid core approximately 30 kilometers in diameter, made up of a mixture (A mixture is an association of two or more solid, liquid or gaseous substances…) of ice, dust and gas called cryomagma. This core is enveloped in a gaseous cloud, or coma. When solar radiation heats the comet, the pressure is a fundamental physical concept. It can be seen as a force reported …) accumulates and causes a violent explosion.
On October 5, a sharp increase in the brightness of 12P was reported by the British Astronomical Association (BAA). Association experts attributed this phenomenon to an explosion of the comet’s nucleus.
Comparison of the appearance of the erupting comet on October 5 (left) and October 7 (right).
Credit: Eliot Herman
According to Richard Miles, a BAA astronomer, the unusual shape of the coma’s “horns” might be due to an irregularity in the comet’s nucleus. The latter might partially obstruct the gas outlet, thus creating this unique shape.
Currently, 12P is on its way to the inner Solar System. It will pass the closest point to Earth on April 21, 2024 and will not return until 2095. This year, it is the second time 12P develops “horns”. The size of the coma increased significantly during both events.
Position of comet 12P in its orbit around the Sun (The Sun (Sol in Latin, Helios or Ήλιος in Greek) is the star…) on October 13.
Credit: SpaceReference.org
It is very likely that more flares will occur as 12P gets closer to the Sun. Furthermore, comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, also cryovolcanic, has experienced several notable eruptions over the past year.
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