Astronomers spot 'horns' coming out of a comet after sudden massive outburst
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The comet, which takes up to 71 years to complete one cycle around the Sun, has recently shown some odd behavior.
Named 12P/Pons-Brooks (12P), it is a type of active cryovolcanic comet (cold volcano) that releases volatiles such as water, ammonia, or methane. The gas and ice inside 12P's nucleus can build up to the point that the comet releases explosive bursts upon exposure to sunlight.
Until recently, Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks appeared to be an average comet.
But on July 20, numerous astronomers spotted a significant outburst from the comet that seemed to be 100 times brighter than usual.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is a Halley type periodic comet with a period of 71 yrs. It is due to reach perihelion next year. It was discovered in outburst a few days ago and brightened significantly.
— David Strange (@dgs99) July 24, 2023
This image with an RC10 stacked on the comet shows a peculiar structure in the coma pic.twitter.com/4M31xARGIX
The observation of the comet
As per SpaceWeather.com, a team of Comet Chasers, a collaborative initiative of Cardiff/The Open Universities led by Helen Usher, monitored the remarkable outburst with telescopes at the Las Cumbres Observatory network.
Surprisingly, the photographs of the comet during this outburst phase showcased "horns" emerging from it.
Astronomers Igor Smoli and Marco Grazdanovic used the Astronomical Station Vidojevica's large 1.4-meter telescope to get a closer look.
The “60x30s exposure" revealed “the origin of the 'horns' curving out of the comet's compact core."
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks 3 days after outburst imaged through 1.4m f/5.1 telescope at Astronomical Station Vidojevica, AOB, Serbia.
— Igor Smolić (@pseudotrabant) July 26, 2023
60x30s, R filter, median stack, FOV 2'x2' (crop) pic.twitter.com/KhXNVClZgY
In its current orbital trajectory, the comet is noted to be beyond Mars' orbit, but it is heading toward the Sun for a near approach in April 2024. It is anticipated to become a naked-eye object of 4th or 5th magnitude around April 2024.
The timing is noteworthy since the comet will achieve a peak brightness merely a few days before the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Thereby allowing astronomers to capture a more detailed view of the comet.
12P/Pons-Brooks 2023 jul 26 20.40 UT LRGB 1600/210/210/210sec 12"/4 QHY600 1x1bin inner coma 114x104" and 27x60sec Michael Jäger pic.twitter.com/11yHHcBJkf
— Michael Jäger (@Komet123Jager) July 27, 2023
“Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is famous for exploding. Discovered in 1812 by Jean-Louis Pons and discovered again in 1883 by William Robert Brooks, the bursty comet visits the inner solar system every 71 years. Since the 19th century at least seven significant outbursts have been observed,” mentioned the report.
Reportedly, the British Astronomical Association's Richard Miles stated that 12P is one of 10 to 20 known comets with active ice volcanoes.
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