- Cryogenic volcanic comet 12P/Ponsbrooks has a diameter of approximately 30.6 miles.
- Scientists found that this eruption occurs every 15 days, with the next eruption occurring on Friday.
- Read more: Giant “Devil’s Comet” explodes again, causing the largest explosion ever
A city-sized comet hurtling toward Earth has erupted dozens of times this year, and scientists are trying to figure out the pattern of its eruptions, which are called “explosions.”
The space rock, nicknamed Devil’s Comet because of the horns it sprouts during eruptions, appears to emit violent bursts of ice and gas every 15 days.
The previous event occurred on December 14th, and the next event will occur on December 29th or 30th.
Astronomers discovered that the object, officially known as Comet 12P, rotates on its axis within two weeks, positioning its cryogenic volcanic vent toward the sun, caused by intense heat.
The comet last erupted on Dec. 14, and its next eruption will be Friday or Saturday.
Richard Miles of the British Astronomical Society said: Spaceweather.com: “It’s like ‘Old Faithful.'”
“Comet 12P has a super-cryogeyser whose eruption is triggered after sunrise at that location.”
12P/Ponsbrooks is known as a cryogenic volcanic comet that exhibits volcanic activity.
But rather than spewing lava or lava-like volcanoes on Earth, cryovolcanic comets emit a mixture of gas and ice.
When a cryogenic volcanic comet, like 12P/Ponsbrooks, approaches the Sun, its temperature increases and pressure builds up within its core.
As the pressure builds, nitrogen and carbon monoxide explode, and pieces of ice fly out from large cracks in the core’s shell.
![It is called the Devil's Comet because it grows horns when it erupts like this one in October.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/28/20/79413949-12907789-image-a-89_1703794256797.jpg)
![It is called the Devil's Comet because it grows horns when it erupts like this one in October.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/28/20/79413949-12907789-image-a-89_1703794256797.jpg)
It is called the Devil’s Comet because it grows horns when it erupts like this one in October.
![After its closest approach to us, the space rock will be blown out of the solar system and won't return until 2095.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/28/20/76648419-12907789-After_making_its_closest_approach_to_us_the_space_rock_will_then-a-90_1703794380403.jpg)
![After its closest approach to us, the space rock will be blown out of the solar system and won't return until 2095.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/28/20/76648419-12907789-After_making_its_closest_approach_to_us_the_space_rock_will_then-a-90_1703794380403.jpg)
After its closest approach to us, the space rock will be blown out of the solar system and won’t return until 2095.
These gas streams can form unique shapes when viewed through a telescope, such as the devil’s horn, sometimes described as a horseshoe, or the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.
This space rock is about the same size as the famous Halley’s Comet, and was last seen with the naked eye on Earth in 1954.
This comet is also called a “Halley-type comet.” Because its orbital period around the sun is 71 years, it falls into the same class as history’s most famous space rocks. It takes a space rock about 75 years to orbit our star, compared to the thousands of years it takes. Like most comets for several years.
Ponsbrooks will be closest to Earth in April 2024, but it could be visible to the naked eye as early as May and June 2024, as it is predicted to reach a magnitude of +4.
The brightest night sky will be on June 2, 2024.
The comet’s name comes from the two astronomers who discovered it, Jean-Louis Pons and William Robert Brooks.
Pons first confirmed it in 1812, and Brooks confirmed it again in 1883, determining that the Devil’s Comet returns to our solar system every 71 years.
At least seven significant explosions have been observed since the 19th century, Space Weather reports.
“2023 is on pace to match that number in just one year.”