The 'Devil Comet'

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is a periodic comet that was discovered by two independent astronomers: Jean-Louis Pons and William Robert Brooks. It was named after both discoverers.

It has been nicknamed the 'Devil Comet' because, in the images captured so far, the icy debris creates an appearance that resembles horns,

This comet has an elliptical orbit around the Sun, which means that it follows an elongated elliptical path.

Its orbital period, i.e. the time it takes to make one complete revolution around the Sun, is about 70 years, which means that it spends most of its time out of visual range and only comes close enough to be observed every few decades.

As comet 12P/Pons-Brooks approaches the Sun in its orbit, the heat from the Sun causes volatile materials inside the comet, such as ice, to sublimate, i.e. go directly from solid to gaseous.

This process creates a coma, a kind of diffuse atmosphere around the comet's nucleus, and also a tail that can extend for millions of kilometres in the direction away from the Sun due to the solar wind.

The comet's coma and tail are what give it its characteristic bright and distinctive appearance in the night sky. The comet's composition includes ice, dust and rocks, which are released and form a luminous tail as it approaches the Sun.

The last recorded sighting of comet 12P/Pons-Brooks was in 1997, so it will be some time before it is visible from Earth again.

It is important to note that comets are fascinating objects that allow us to better understand the formation and evolution of the solar system.