SIt will be a show that astronomy enthusiasts and star experts recommend not to miss. Tomorrow, March 12, binoculars will be enough to observe even in our sky Comet 12P Pons-Brooks, also called the Devil’s Comet.
What is Comet 12P Pons-Brooks
Comet 12P Pons-Brooks it was discovered in 1812 by the French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons. It is part of the family of the famous Halley’s Comet and returns to visit the Sun every 71 years. These days it is approaching the closest point to the Sun, the perihelion, a point it will reach on April 21st. Thanks to the good weather forecast for the next few days, the show could be within everyone’s reach.
According to what is explained on the site meteo.it “It’s about a cryovolcanic comet, that is, of a star that erupts from time to time a combination of ice and gas called “cryomagma” when solar radiation manages to break its frozen shell. When this happens, the comet’s coma expands, making it much brighter for several days.”
Because it’s called the Devil’s Comet
Last July, astronomers observed Comet 12P erupt for the first time in 69 years, and it has erupted quite frequently since then. During the first eruptions, the expanded coma of the comet took on a particular shape, like horns. Hence its nickname “Devil’s Comet”.
If one of his sudden increases in brightnesswill coincide with the eclipse of April 8, the comet could appear in the photos of astronomers and amateur astronomers, and perhaps it could even be visible to the naked eye.
Spectacular images
Someone images of the comet have already been captured by the Virtual Telescope Project station in Manciano, in the province of Grosseto. And it is no coincidence that they were obtained right here: «It is the most starry sky in peninsular Italy. A territory without equal in terms of purity from light pollution and which for this reason should be protected like a real Star Parkas happens elsewhere in Europe” explained the astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, Scientific Manager of the Virtual Telescope Project.
How to see comet 12P Pons-Brooks
«In recent evenings we have obtained some extraordinary images of this comet showing a continuously changing tail, very rich in details, like the regions closest to the nucleus».
How not to miss the show? At the moment we can observe the comet with binoculars: the best time is 90 minutes after sunset. The location to look towards is low on the northwest horizon, in the constellation Andromeda. Not only. Tomorrow March 12, at 7.30 pm, it will be possible to admire the spectacle of the passage directly on the site of the Virtual Telescope Project of Manciano, www.virtualtelescope.eu.
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