Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett
Explanation:
On December 4, periodic
Comet
12P/Pons-Brooks
shared this
telescopic field of view
with Vega, alpha star of the northern constellation Lyra.
Fifth brightest star in planet Earth's night,
Vega is some 25
light-years distant while
the much fainter comet was about 21 light-minutes away.
In
recent months,
outbursts have caused dramatic increases
in brightness for Pons-Brooks though.
Nicknamed the Devil Comet for its hornlike appearance,
fans of interstellar spaceflight have also suggested
the distorted shape of this comet's large coma looks like the
Millenium
Falcon.
A Halley-type comet, 12P/Pons-Brooks
last visited the inner
Solar System in 1954.
Its next perihelion passage or closest approach to the Sun
will be April 21, 2024.
That's just two weeks after the April 8 total
solar eclipse path crosses North America.
But, highly inclined to the Solar System's ecliptic plane,
the orbit of
periodic Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks
will never cross the orbit of planet Earth.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
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