Comet 12/P Pons-Brooks aka ‘Devil comet’ to wow Australian skies this weekend
A spectacular comet will soon briefly come into view for Australians before disappearing again for another 71 years.
Australian stargazers are in for a treat this week, as the rare ‘Devil Comet’ becomes visible in Australian skies before disappearing for another 71 years.
The comet, larger than Mount Everest, will be visible to the naked eye in Australia for a short period in the early hours of Monday, April 22.
Comet 12/P Pons-Brooks was dubbed the ‘Devil’ or ‘Mother of Dragons’ due to its horned tail.
Astrophysicist Brad Tucker from the Australian National University previously said the comet will appear as a green, fuzzy dot best seen before sunrise. The comet can be located in the sky by finding Venus, which shines brightest before dawn, and looking below it in a line towards the sun.
The comet’s visibility and brightness will increase as it gets closer to the sun, due to the increased release of gas from its surface.
Although the comet can be seen without any visual aid, using binoculars is tipped to greatly improve the viewing experience.
Those with more advanced telescopes will be able to observe the comet over the weeks following its initial visibility as it approaches the sun before moving back into the distant parts of the solar system.
The comet’s unique horns are understood to be the result of cryo-volcanic eruptions of ice that occur as it heats up near the sun, creating visible tails of gas, dust, and ice that accompany the comet’s main tail.
It has been visible in the Northern Hemisphere since mid-March but was not observable in the Southern Hemisphere due to its position below the horizon.
In the Southern Hemisphere, we’ve had to wait a bit longer for the comet to arrive as it moves into our part of the sky, but it should be at its brightest this weekend.
Jonti Horner, an astronomer with the University of Southern Queensland, said images already captured from the Northern Hemisphere inspired excitement for Australian stargazers.
“There’s been some astonishingly beautiful photos coming out on social media of the comet taken from the Northern Hemisphere near the Andromeda Galaxy,” Prof Horner told the ABC.
Donna Burton, an astronomer at the Milroy Observatory in remote New South Wales, recommends that stargazers keep their eyes peeled towards the western horizon near Jupiter.
“Go and find somewhere dark, away from city lights,” she told ABC.
She added free apps like Star Walk or Night Sky as will “show you exactly where it is”.
“You don’t need people like me to teach you how to find things in the sky anymore.”
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