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By Pandora Dewan
Senior Science Reporter
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A massive comet, which has earned itself the nickname "Devil Comet," is charging towards Earth after an "erratic" outburst earlier this year.
The comet, officially names 12P/Pons-Brooks, has fascinated astronomers for centuries and will be visible from Earth in April 2024 for the first time in 71 years.
"Pons-Brooks was first discovered in 1812 and this will be its fourth time coming around," Quanzhi Ye, an astronomer at the University of Maryland who studies the comet, told Newsweek. "In addition, some astronomers were able to establish the observational record all the way back to 1385, so this comet is among the very few comets that have been observed for a very long time."
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The exact size of the comet is difficult to predict, but Ye said that it is "on the larger end" as far as comets go. "Most comets that we know are about one to a few km in size," Ye said. "[But] we only have a very rough idea on the size of the comet—e.g. 5 km, 10 km or 20 km are all likely numbers."
That means that the comet could be up to twice the size of Mount Everest, or the length of Manhattan.
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The comet was last visible from earth in 1953, but its rarity is not the only thing that has got astronomers excited. "Pons-Brooks is also known to exhibit erratic outbursts (confirmed by recent observations) so this gives astronomers more excitement in observing it," Ye said.
These outbursts occur when the comets suddenly get a lot more active and eject large amounts of gas and dust in a short space of time, causing the comets to shine brighter. No one knows for sure why these outbursts happen, but they do often occur as the comets near their parent star.
In July, Pons-Brooks underwent its own explosive outbursts, and it is these outbursts that have earned the comet its dramatic name. These sudden expulsions of energy have created two tails of gas and dust that stream behind the comet, giving the impression of horns.
The comet poses no threat to Earth, but offers an exciting opportunity to stargazers to catch a glimpse of this rare giant. "It is a fairly easy telescopic target now if you have a decent telescope, a camera, and know where to look," Ye said. "But it is unlikely to be a naked-eye target this time around [...] There are conversations that it may be visible to telescopes during the total solar eclipse next year, though.
"Comets are notoriously unpredictable and should Pons-Brooks exhibit another large outburst early next year like what it did in this July, it could be a different story."
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