Comet "12P/Pons-Brooks" on its foray to Earth

Comet "12P/Pons-Brooks" in the night sky

Most people are unlikely to remember 29 June 1954 – when comet " 12P/Pons-Brooks" passed the Earth for the last time at a minimal distance of around 240 million kilometers. Now, this year, the next opportunity to view the periodic and sometimes brightest known comet has presented itself. The comet was rediscovered with the Discovery Channel Telescope in June 2020 and has also been visible with commercially available telescopes for some time. In the coming days and weeks, the comet will continue to approach the Earth; on 2 June, its closest approach to the Earth will be 1.55 AU (astronomical unit) or around 230 million kilometers. However, due to its practically vertical orbit relative to the Earth, it will then only be visible in the southern hemisphere. A simulation of the orbit can be found here.

Visibility in the northern hemisphere

The best chances of observing the comet in the northern hemisphere are until around the beginning of April. Although the comet will continue to move closer to the Earth over the next few weeks and become a little brighter, the next few days should be at least as good for observation. This is because its position in the sky is currently much more favorable than at the beginning of April, when it is relatively low on the horizon and can only be seen at dusk. With a good lens, the comet can currently be observed from around 8 o'clock in the evening about 10° above the horizon and looking west. The comet moves through the constellations Andromeda, Pisces and Aries. Jupiter also serves as an orientation aid. This also shines quite brightly and is only about three hand-widths to the left. At around 22:30, the comet disappears behind the horizon.

Comet, coma, tail

The comet "12P/Pons-Brooks" was first discovered on July 12, 1812 by Jean-Louis Pons, a French astronomer. Around 70 years later, it was rediscovered by chance by William Robert Brooks. The two astronomers are therefore also the namesakes of the comet.
A comet, or tail star, is a small celestial body with a diameter of a few kilometers. In the case of "12P/Pons-Brooks", this is estimated to be around 30 kilometers. Comets are made up of ice, dust and loose rock and are also known colloquially as "dirty snowballs". When a comet comes close to the sun, ice vaporizes, releasing particles from the comet's nucleus and forming a bowl-shaped coma. The closer the comet gets to the sun, the more particles are ejected and the brighter the luminous gas shell becomes. The components of the coma are separated from the comet by radiation pressure and solar wind and form the tail (in astronomy, a distinction is made between plasma and dust tails). These factors also explain why the tail always faces away from the sun.

 

For interested people and amateur astronomers, a look at the evening sky should be well worthwhile in the near future. The current weather conditions and thus the visibility can be checked at any time on our website.