The explosive “devil’s comet” was hit by a huge plasma wave from the sun, temporarily blowing away its dusty tail. A NASA spacecraft captured the epic encounter in a new video, which also features a cameo from the distant planet Jupiter.
12P Comet/Pangbrooks (12P) is a green, cryogenic volcanic comet with a core diameter of 10.5 miles (17 kilometers). When it absorbs too much solar radiation, it occasionally erupts, spewing an icy mixture of gas and dust into the solar system. When this happens, its coma—the cloud of particles surrounding the nucleus—expands and becomes brighter. In the past, this bright cloud began to deform from within, Give the comet a pair of “horns” This earned it its sinister nickname.However, these corners have been Not present in recent outbreaks.
12P orbits the Sun approximately every 71 years in a highly elliptical or elongated orbit. As a result, the comet spends most of its life in the outer reaches of our cosmic neighborhood, far from the line of sight of our telescopes.However, it is currently making its final push towards the sun and will Reaching the closest point to our home star, called perihelion, Sunday (April 21).It will then ricochet around our home planet and return to edge of solar system – if it Not first burned due to close contact.
On April 12, the comet was struck by a giant cloud of plasma called a “plasma cloud.” coronal mass ejection (CME) exploded from the sun without any warning, Space Weather Network Report. This event triggered a disconnection event, in which the comet’s dust tail was temporarily blown away by a solar storm and then grew back.
NASA’s Solar-Terrestrial Relations Observatory-A (STEREO-A) spacecraft has been keeping a close eye on the comet as it approaches perihelion and captured the plasma bombardment in a striking video.In new footage, 12P seems to be getting closer Jupiter (Even though the two objects are millions of miles apart) A coronal mass ejection then rolled toward them and stripped off the comet’s tail.
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Disconnect events are rare, but the closer the comet is to the sun, the greater the chance of a disconnect. Something similar happened to Comet Nishimura in September 2023, when a coronal mass ejection As a comet catapults around the sun, its tail is blown away — Just like this week’s 12P. In January 2023, an astrophotographer captured time-lapse footage The same thing happened with Green Comet C/2022 E3.
This isn’t the first time 12P has been spotted approaching another object on its journey through the inner solar system.Explosive comets have also been Photographed flying through the crimson Crescent Nebula January and live broadcast Flying over the Andromeda Galaxy in March.
besides Hope 12P will appear during the recent total solar eclipse. However, it turns out that because the moon temporarily obscures our home star, it is difficult to spot.
if you want Watch 12P yourself, now is the perfect time to do so. Over the next several nights, the comet should be visible to the naked eye low in the west from across the United States, about an hour after sunset.
You can check sky live network Know exactly where to look.Use a good pair stargazing binoculars will increase your chances of seeing the comet before it disappears seventy years later.
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