A giant cryovolcanic comet called 12P/Pons-Brooks, comparable to a small city in size, experienced its second major outburst in four months as it made its way toward the sun. These eruptions resembled a gigantic pair of horns, accompanied by the release of a cloud of ice and gas.
12P/Pons-Brooks is a cryovolcanic comet, commonly known as a cold volcano, with a solid core about 30 kilometers in diameter, composed of a mixture of ice, dust and gas called cryomagma. A faint cloud of gas called a coma surrounds the nucleus as it leaks from the comet’s interior.
The outbursts occur when solar radiation heats the comet’s core, leading to increased pressure and violent explosions that shoot icy material into space through large cracks in the core’s shell.
According to the British Astronomical Association (BAA), astronomers observed a burst of 12P on October 5 as it brightened significantly due to the enhanced reflection of light from its extended coma. In the following days, the coma continued to spread and formed its distinct “horns”, as reported by Spaceweather.com.
According to BAA astronomer Richard Miles, the comet’s strange coma shape has been attributed to irregularities in the nucleus that LiveScience reported after the comet’s previous outburst. As gas flows away from the comet, it interacts with protrusions on the nucleus, shaping the coma in unique and noticeable ways.
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Currently, 12P is moving towards the inner Solar System, with its closest approach to Earth scheduled for April 21, 2024. It will be visible to the naked eye before being propelled into the outer Solar System and will not be seen again until 2095.
This is the second time in the same year that 12P has exhibited such outbursts. The last outburst occurred on July 20, when the comet blew its tops for the first time in 69 years. The BAA revealed that the latest eruption was even more intense than the previous one. Spaceweather.com suggested the possibility of larger outbursts in the future as the comet absorbs more solar radiation.
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Updated: Oct 19, 2023 09:54 IST