Stunning new images have been released of a ‘devilish comet’ the size of Manhattan.
The new photos show that the giant ice ball hides a spiral swirl of red, green and blue gas around its icy core.
The spirals, which resemble a yin-yang symbol, are caused by the comet ejecting streams of cryomagma as it spins. As it makes a full rotation within two weeks, the ice beams are twisted into the vortices seen in the images.
Stargazers can see the comet with the naked eye in late March and during the April 8 solar eclipse — spanning the 115-mile stretch from Maine to Texas — if they are in areas far from city lights and have a clear view of the comet. night sky.
Astrophotographer Jan Erik Vallestad captured images of the swirling devilish comet
The devilish comet, named P12/Pons-Brooks, made its first appearance in 71 years in July 2023
Astrophotographer Jan Erik Vallestad captured the close-up images using specialized software to zoom in on the comet’s coma – a scientific term for a cloud of icy dust.
The comet, known as the ‘devil’s comet’, got its name last year when a photo captured it with a horseshoe shape at its apex, resembling horns.
But recent images of Vallestad, taken from Norway, provide a much more detailed view of Pons-Brooks as it moves closer to the sun.
He explained that most astronomers focus on the comet’s tail, which lengthens every night, but Vallestad decided to focus on the comet’s nucleus.
“I focused exclusively on the nucleus here and ignored almost everything else,” Vallestad said, adding that many astronomers believe the comet’s eruptions are a sign of cryovolcanic activity, “so this could be further evidence of that.” ‘
Stargazers may be able to see Comet Pons-Brooks with the naked eye during the April 8 solar eclipse
The Devil’s Comet got its name last year when a photo captured it with a horseshoe shape at its apex, resembling horns.
The comet, named 12P/Pons-Brooks, is 17.5 kilometers wide and experiences periodic volcanic-like ‘flares’ that make it shine 100 times brighter than normal as it gets closer to the sun.
Pons-Brooks can only be seen in the early evening with a telescope, binoculars or via a long exposure photo towards the constellation Pisces.
Cryovolcanic activity occurs when a comet experiences volcano-like eruptions of ice and gas.
The comet’s solar radiation causes cracks in the core – which consists of rock, dust and frozen gas – to burst and spew water, ammonia and methane, called cryomagma, from the core into space.
The comet will be visible until May in the Northern Hemisphere and until June in the Southern Hemisphere
The next appearance of Comet Pons-Brooks will be in 2095
Latvia-based astrophotographer Juris Sennikovs also mimicked Vallestad’s technique to locate the spiral.
“After seeing (the) image of Jan Erik Vallestad, I processed my image of comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in a similar way,” Seņņikovs told Spaceweather.
‘To my great surprise, I also got a spiral around the comet’s nucleus. Without processing, you can easily miss this structure,” he added.
To see Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, look towards the Great Square of Pegasus and in the coming weeks the comet will move towards the constellation Aries
Those who want to view the comet now can do so by looking toward the western part of the night sky, toward Pegasus Square.
In the coming weeks it will shift into the constellation Aries and when it flares up it will become so bright that it can be seen without a telescope.
The demon comet’s brightness flares are “likely caused by the ice feeling the sun’s heat for the first time, transitioning into the gas phase and escaping from the nucleus, while the other drags dust or ice with it,” says professor Lori Feaga . who studies comets at the University of Maryland, said The Washington Post.
Pons-Brooks was first discovered by French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons in 1812 and again in 1883 by William Brooks, from which it takes its name, although astronomers say there is evidence that the comet was spotted as early as the year 1385.
It was last seen passing close to the sun 71 years ago and will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere until early May, when it begins to fade, but will remain visible in the Southern Hemisphere until June.
The most recent Pons-Brooks flares occurred in July 2023 and on October 15, November 1 and 14, December 14 and January 18, and the next time the comet will be seen is in 2095.
“It will be interesting to study during this visit because we only get a chance once every 70 years… and the technology and telescopes have improved tremendously since they last appeared,” Feaga told The Post.
She added: ‘During this visit we should be able to gain a better understanding of the comet’s chemical composition.’