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03-17-2024, 09:55 PM
From Fox: Massive comet with outbursts of brightness makes its approach toward Sun
NASA said the Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is racing toward its closest approach to the sun on its 71-year-long orbit. The orbit takes it as far away as the orbit of Neptune and as close as the orbit of Venus. But because the orbit is tilted, the space agency said there is no chance of a collision with Earth.
The comet is about 18 miles in diameter and has been observed numerous times over the course of hundreds of years, most notably because of its outbursts of gas.
Also from Smithsonian: You Can See a Rare, Bright Comet This Month....
A bright comet that only appears once—maybe twice—in a lifetime is currently on its way through our solar system. Called 12P/Pons-Brooks, the city-sized comet has already made headlines for bright outbursts over the past several months. And now, some astronomers are speculating it could appear in the darkened sky during the total solar eclipse on April 8, provided the comet is glowing brightly enough.
And from Space.com: Here's how to see 'horned' comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in the night sky this month
There has been some talk that should 12P/Pons-Brooks undergo another flare-up in the coming weeks that it might become a very bright, even spectacular object. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be likely. Space.com asked the well-known comet expert, John Bortle for an assessment of how the comet may "perform" in the days ahead.
His belief is that while 12P/Pons-Brooks brightened dramatically last summer when the comet was far from the sun and just beginning to get active, that for any flare-ups in the near-future, the comet will not appear to brighten very much because the overall brightness of the comet has increased significantly as it now has moved much closer to the sun.
"As a result," notes Bortle, "the outburst brightness cannot overwhelm the overall brightness of the comet's coma as easily."
And now a few pics....
![[Image: wEHxJaUajXcFpkxuAuPxD6-1200-80.jpg]](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/wEHxJaUajXcFpkxuAuPxD6-1200-80.jpg)
And some tracking guidance.... (look near the constellation Pisces,)
![[Image: UodvKbbJE9WEJKoUYN8eBR-1200-80.jpg]](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/UodvKbbJE9WEJKoUYN8eBR-1200-80.jpg)
NASA said the Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is racing toward its closest approach to the sun on its 71-year-long orbit. The orbit takes it as far away as the orbit of Neptune and as close as the orbit of Venus. But because the orbit is tilted, the space agency said there is no chance of a collision with Earth.
The comet is about 18 miles in diameter and has been observed numerous times over the course of hundreds of years, most notably because of its outbursts of gas.
Also from Smithsonian: You Can See a Rare, Bright Comet This Month....
A bright comet that only appears once—maybe twice—in a lifetime is currently on its way through our solar system. Called 12P/Pons-Brooks, the city-sized comet has already made headlines for bright outbursts over the past several months. And now, some astronomers are speculating it could appear in the darkened sky during the total solar eclipse on April 8, provided the comet is glowing brightly enough.
And from Space.com: Here's how to see 'horned' comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in the night sky this month
There has been some talk that should 12P/Pons-Brooks undergo another flare-up in the coming weeks that it might become a very bright, even spectacular object. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be likely. Space.com asked the well-known comet expert, John Bortle for an assessment of how the comet may "perform" in the days ahead.
His belief is that while 12P/Pons-Brooks brightened dramatically last summer when the comet was far from the sun and just beginning to get active, that for any flare-ups in the near-future, the comet will not appear to brighten very much because the overall brightness of the comet has increased significantly as it now has moved much closer to the sun.
"As a result," notes Bortle, "the outburst brightness cannot overwhelm the overall brightness of the comet's coma as easily."
And now a few pics....
And some tracking guidance.... (look near the constellation Pisces,)
