A Gigantic Comet With Horns Is Soaring Towards Earth
THE DEVIL'S COMET IS COMING
A massive comet is going to be passing Earth; enough to possibly light us up as it passes. The comet is known as 'The Devil's Comet' and although it's difficult to say exactly when it will be passing by, it's expected to cross our path in April of 2024.
12P/PONS-BROOKS
The comet is officially called 12P/Pons-Brooks but is called The Devil's Comet because of the formation of two horns that are made up of ice and gases. It is supposedly unusually bright compared to many other comets, and people will be able to see it with binoculars and even the naked eye.
WHERE DO THE HORNS COME FROM?
According to an article by abcnews, as comets get closer to the sun, they typically get warmer and brighter. The ice turns to gas and pulls on the dust, which forms the tail associated with comets. This comet is particularly active and has been getting brighter and brighter, and because of the ice and gases spewing from its cold volcano, we are hoping that 'the horns' will be visible at least to those with professional photographic equipment. I didn't realize that comets had volcanoes on them, and where was I when they were talking about 'cold volcanoes' in science class? It is one of only 20 cold volcano comets that scientists know about.
HOW BIG IS BIG?
How large is this comet? To put the size of this comet into perspective, it is twice the size of Mount Everest, according to an article by Fox News.
If you want to see the Devil's Comet, you should probably mark your calendar to watch for it, as the news will probably be focused on the solar eclipse that will be happening at about the same time. They say that during the eclipse when the sky is dark, might be the perfect time to search the skies for this bright spectacular.
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