A comet in the sky that comes close to Earth once in 71 years

The comet, which passes close to Earth once every 71 years, can be seen in the night sky with binoculars or a small telescope.

Astronomers say the comet 12P/Pons Brooks is getting brighter, and it’s likely that stargazers will be able to see it with the naked eye in the coming weeks.

According to Dr Megan Argo, an astronomer at the University of Central Lancashire, the comet’s activity has already increased several times, causing it to periodically increase in brightness.

“If we’re lucky, in the next few weeks we may once again see it moving across the sky,” he added.

Comets Stars are celestial objects that are composed primarily of dust, rocks, and ice.

‘You can think of them as big dirty snowballs,’ said Dr Argo.

12/ Ponce. Brooks is named after Jean-Louis Pons and William Robert Brooks, who discovered it. Pons spends most of its time in the outer parts of the solar system where it is very cold. It returns to the inner solar system every 71 years and is therefore known as a comet.

As the comet gets closer to the Sun, the ice turns directly into gas due to heat, Dr Argo said. This process is called direct gas-to-solid conversion process. During this time, some material disappears from the surface of the comet.

“This gas forms a cloud around the solid central part of the comet known as the coma, and also forms a tail of material that can stretch millions of miles into space,” he said.

‘The tail is made up of gas and dust blown away from the comet by the force of the solar wind from the Sun, and this tail is the part that is clearly visible in the sky when viewed from Earth.’

Dr. Argo says that although the tail of 12p/Pons Brooks is well formed, it is still ‘not clearly visible without binoculars or a telescope.’

For those trying to see this comet, it is below and to the left of the galaxy called Andromeda.

Cumbria-based amateur astronomer Stuart Atkinson has been using his Canon 700D for some time. They are tracking this comet by taking pictures with DSLR cameras.

Technically, 12p/Pons Brooks should now be visible to the naked eye, he said, but actually seeing it requires binoculars or a telescope because most people can’t see it at such locations. Live where there is light pollution.

Atkinson, who has written 14 books on astronomy, said: ‘In the next few weeks it will be slightly brighter, but the moon and its glow in the sky will dim the star.’

He said that the best way to see a comet is to find it in a place where there is no light in the sky. There should be no tall trees, buildings or hills on the ground.

According to Atkinson: ‘You’d need binoculars to see the comet and it would still be faint with a faint tail behind it.

‘Fortunately, the planet Jupiter is close to it, so slowly turning your telescope to the right of Jupiter will help.

‘People think that comets move as fast across the sky as fast moving stars, but this is not true. Comets move only slightly each night. Therefore, the comet star will remain in the sky for some time yet.’

Join Independent Urdu’s WhatsApp channel for authentic news and current affairs analysis Here Click