Devil’s Comet, an event that will happen during the solar eclipse

He cometa 12P/Pons-Brooksalso known as the devil’s kitehas captured the imagination of astronomers and space enthusiasts.

This cosmic visitor, with its appearance in horn shapehas become a celestial phenomenon of great scientific and aesthetic relevance.

Pons-Brooks is one Halley-type cometwhich means it orbits the Sun once every 71 years. The stars in this category have orbital periods that range between 20 and 200 years.

The famous Halley’s comet, which visits the interior of the solar system every 76 years old, also belongs to this family.

The importance of the devil’s kite lies in its rarity and the opportunity it offers for astronomical observation.

His last appearance was 71 years ago and His return coincides with the solar eclipse of April 8, allowing astronomers and night sky enthusiasts to enjoy two celestial phenomena simultaneously.

Since the middle of last year, The devil’s comet began to leave traces in the sky. Astronomical photographers captured its first burst on July 20, 2023.

Currently, to see it you can do it in the completely night sky in the terrestrial north with the help of binoculars or telescopes.

However, as it approaches perihelion, the chances of seeing it with the naked eye increase. The phenomenon is scheduled for viewing on April 21.

Find a place with little light pollution and watch the dark sky at night. The devil’s comet will be in Its closest point to Earth will be on April 28but you can see it from the 21 of the same month.

Name devil’s kite it’s not by chance. The horn-shaped appearance of it, along with the history of discovery of it, gives it this intriguing nickname.

Jean-Louis Pons, French astronomer, first discovered it in 1812 and then, 71 years laterWilliam Robert Brooks rediscovered it.

This time difference in sightings is the reason behind the name Pons-Brooks.