2024-03-22 12:00:11
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, a gigantic celestial body of ice and rock, approaches Earth, revealing a never-before-seen spiral of light.
This comet, with a wingspan of 17 kilometers, orbits the Sun following a very elliptical trajectory every 71 years. Its frozen core, surrounded by a shell of ice, is enveloped by a coma: a cloud of icy dust gradually escaping. What sets 12P apart is its activity (The term activity can designate a profession.) cryovolcanic. Under the effect of solar radiation (In addition to cosmic rays (particles with extremely high speed and energy…)cracks form, releasing jets of matter (Matter is the substance that makes up any body having a tangible reality. Its…) frozen. This gives it exceptional shine during these breakouts.
Credit: Jan Erik Vallestad
Last year, 12P made headlines when it experienced a massive eruption, the first in 69 years, giving it what appeared to be “demonic horns.” These, however, disappeared during more recent eruptions. As it gets closer to the Sun, its green coma caused by a high concentration of dicarbon (diatomic carbon) has become much more visible, as has its dusty tail swept by the solar wind (The solar wind is a flow of plasma consisting essentially of ions and electrons which are…).
A hidden spiral of light surrounding the comet’s icy core was brought to light. This discovery is the fruit of the work of astrophotographer Jan Erik Vallestad, who, from Norway, used specialized software to reveal this spiral structure in the coma. This spiral would be the result of small geysers on the surface of the comet, projecting jets of cryomagma which, due to the rotation of the comet, take on a swirling shape.
Without image processing, the spiral of comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is not visible.
Credit: Jan Erik Vallestad
Currently, 12P crosses the solar system (The solar system is a planetary system composed of a star, the…) interior at a speed of approximately 64,500 km/h. It will reach its closest point to the Sun on April 24, before passing close to Earth in early June, where it should be visible to the naked eye.
Photographs of 12P have been taken by astrophotographers in recent months, notably capturing its passage near the Crescent Nebula. Some even hope that it will be visible during theeclipse (An eclipse corresponds to the occultation of a light source by a physical object. In…) total solar energy of April 8 on the continent (The word continent comes from the Latin continere for “to hold together”, or continens…) North American, although a major cryomagma eruption is necessary to guarantee its visibility (In meteorology, visibility is the distance at which it is possible to…).
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