Written in SCIENCE he
If you are a fan of astronomical events, you have a very important appointment in April! And it is that he comet 12P/Pons-Brooks will be visible on the Land by first time in 71 years with what is literally the only time in your life you will be able to see it. The most surprising thing about this celestial body is that it is larger than Mount Everest. It is also known as Diablo because of its pair of “horns” that appear in the images where it has been captured.
And astronomy fans have already been taking several photos of the comet 12P/Pons-Brooks with specialized telescopes, but the good news is that very soon it will be visible with the naked eye! This celestial body was discovered on July 12, 1812. Its orbital period is 71 years and it is a cryovolcanic type. The last perihelion it had was on May 22, 1954, while the next one will occur on April 21, 2024. The diameter of its core is 30 kilometers.
He comet 12P/Pons-Brooks It will approach within 116.8 million kilometers of the sun on April 21, 2024. After that, a close approach to Earth of 232 million kilometers will occur on June 2. However, if you are in the North Hemisphere (like in Mexico), the best time to see it will be at end of Marchaccording to Jessica Lee, an astronomer at the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
To identify the comet 12P/Pons-Brooks You'll have to look at the night sky and try to identify “an irregularly shaped snowball.” The best time to see it from Mexico will be in the last days of March when it is in the constellation of Aries. This celestial body is so large that it can be compared to the size of Mount Everest and it is the opportunity of a lifetime to see it because it will not visit us again until 2095.
What is the difference between a comet and an asteroid?
The comets, such as 12P/Pons-Brooks They consist of a core made up of ice, dust and small rock particles, in addition to being surrounded by a hazy cloud of gases, which gives the visual perception of a tail. The celestial body also known as 'Diablo' is cryovolcanic (or cold volcano), which means that it exhibits volcanic activity. But instead of spewing molten rock and lava like a volcano on Earth, it releases a mixture of gases and ice. When a cryovolcanic comet approaches the Sun, as 12P/Pons-Brooks is now doing, it heats up and generates pressure in the core.
The pressure then continues to build until the nitrogen and carbon monoxide explode, spewing icy debris through large cracks in the core layer. Such gaseous currents can give rise to distinctive shapes when viewed through a telescope, such as devil's horns. According to various astronomers, the comet 12P/Pons-Brooks It erupted on October 31, 2023.
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