A ‘DEVIL’ comet bigger than Mount Everest is making its way to Earth
In a world where scientists and astronomers bless people with new information about the universe almost every day, the scientific community has revealed yet another remarkable development that has both piqued curiosity and fueled some fear. The so-called "Devil Comet" is passing Earth and exploding on its way around the sun, but a researcher who studies such a phenomenon told Insider that while the comet is large and unusual, its ominous name – a reference to the appearance of horns – does not mean it poses any threat to the third planet from the sun.
The comet, known to scientists as 12P/Pons-Brooks, last appeared in Earth's sky more than 70 years ago. Judging by its brightness, astronomers have estimated that the solid part of the comet, or its nucleus, is about 12.4 miles across — about twice the size of Mount Everest. Typically, comets are between 0.6 and 1.8 miles wide, according to Teddy Kareta, a postdoctoral researcher at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. "We know it's big, we know it's an outlier, we know it's rare," Kareta told Insider.
We also know that it will probably be most visible next spring, but not because it's moving toward Earth in another extinction-level event. In fact, Kareta said, at its closest, the comet will still be about one and a half astronomical units away, or put another one away: even further from Earth than the sun. "It might be bright enough that you can see with your naked eye or with binoculars, but it's not because it's going to be very close," Kareta said. "That's because it's just generally very bright." Indeed, the comet is both bright and highly unusual. Its "horns" are actually tails of gas and dust formed by a strange series of explosive eruptions that scientists still don't understand. Two such eruptions have been seen this year: first in July, then earlier this month. An "outburst," according to Kareta, is "where comets suddenly become much more active," throwing off tons of gas and dust in a short period of time.
When that happens, "the comet brightens very quickly and then kind of fades back to the brightness it had before," he said. "And in Pons-Brooks, it's really, really bright — really, really big bursts. And that's what makes this comet so interesting to scientists." These bursts were particularly interesting because of their frequency and where they occurred. One theory is that comets contain forms of ice that, when first exposed to heat from the sun, cause volatile explosions. But those explosions were typically observed closer to the sun, and not often.
According to Kareta, "this can happen twice in five years." The Pons-Brooks comet, in contrast, explodes relatively frequently and, confusingly, far away from the sun. Right now, it's further than Mars, Kareta noted, where "it's just not that hot." This begs the question: "Where does the energy come from that drives these kinds of large eruptions? And the fact that it seems to be able to do so much.
, so often?" The comet is expected to peak in mid-April 2024 as it continues on its 71.2 year journey around the sun. Astronomers, professional or otherwise, look forward to it. "I think a lot of people are very excited about it," Kareta said..
