Here is the last day to see the famous, Devil’s Comet, one of the most beautiful celestial bodies ever. You must not miss this date because you may never see it again. Get your telescope and popcorn ready.
You don’t have to be an expert astronomy to feel like grabbing a pair of binoculars or a telescope and getting lost in the wonder of the night sky. This show takes us with our imagination to hidden places, made of stars and various celestial bodies. Furthermore, thanks to the latest generation smartphone applications it is possible to point the phone’s camera at the sky and perfectly understand where the planets, constellations and so on are located.
Thanks to the in-depth studies dedicated to this matter, it is possible to find out well in advance when particular events will be visible in the sky, now establishing with precision the date and time of the passage. Then there are situations in which it is possible to see everything naked eyejust look for a point away from the city lights, raise your eyes to the sky and wait, others who need suitable tools, not necessarily professional ones, such as the binoculars or telescope.
And it is precisely thanks to these tools that you can admire the marvelous Devil’s Comet, whose name could not be further from the meaning that many attribute to it. Write this down calendar day because it might be the last time you see her.
The Devil’s Comet is coming
There Devil’s Comet or 12P/Pons-Brooks is part of the group of Halley’s comets, that is, those celestial bodies with periodic cadence that have a strongly inclined orbit with respect to the ecliptic plane of the solar system. Officially discovered in 1812, in reality from the writings found, the Chinese had discovered this comet as early as 1300.
The Devil’s Comet is visible in the evening in the northwestern sky as early as April, where it reached its perihelion on April 21st and thanks to its splendor, it was possible to observe it with the naked eye, only for those who moved to dark areas of the mountains or countryside, far from the sources of light pollution typical of the city.
Until you see it
There Devil’s Comet o 12P/Pons-Brooks has an orbital period of 71 years oldwhich is why, if you miss the chance to see her now, you risk, based on your date of birth, not seeing her again, given that she will return to this area in August 2095.
To see this celestial body you will necessarily have to equip yourself with a binoculars or a telescope and choose a spot dark enough to be able to see it go by, there are also special apps that will help you with this objective. A little curiosity before revealing when you will be able to see it, regarding the his namewhich has nothing to do with hypothetical nefarious events that his nickname might lead one to believe.
It is simply called the Devil’s Comet for the its shapewhich after having suffered a violent outburst, lost brightness in a part of its surface, releasing that typical vision of a horseshoe or horn. Hence this name, among other things many have nicknamed it “Millennium Falcon Comet”, referring to the mythical ship of Star Wars led by Han Solo and Chewbacca.
Finally, you will have time until June 2, 2024 to see the comet, as it will reach its closest point to the Earth, before definitively moving away from the Sun. Having said that, all you have to do is prepare the popcorn, take your binoculars, look for an ideal night area and enjoy the passage of 12P/Pons -Brooks.
