Mister Comet can be seen this weekend from the Canary Islands: how and when to watch it
These days, Mister Comet is crossing the skies over the Canary Islands. The celestial body named 12P Ponce BrooksThis is one of two this will be visible to the naked eye this year from the Archipelago.
As reported by the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC), 12P Ponce Brooks is a comet that stands out for its size: 30 kilometers in diameter, which is equivalent to an “iceberg” larger than La Gomera.
It is expected to become visible as a blue-green cloud this weekend when it makes its closest approach to the Sun on April 21. For more detailed viewing, the IAC recommends using binoculars or telescopes.
12P Pons Brooks is characterized by sudden outbursts of gas and dust observed during its approach to the Sun in 1883, 1954 and during its current transit.
Alfred Rosenberg and Daniel Lopez of the IAC followed the astrological phenomenon and were able to depict it in various images published by the Institute.
Comet 12P Pons-Brooks, imaged on April 7 by the STC astrograph. | Daniel Lopez/IAC
Comets leave dust grains that pass through meteor showers
It is unusual for comets to come so close to Earth. In fact, only a little over a hundred “close” comets are known, while there are more than 35,000 cataloged asteroids.
Meteor showers occur when the Earth, moving at almost 30 kilometers per second, passes through the debris left behind by comets along its path (mostly small dust particles). This usually always happens on the same dates, so we mark them on our calendar.
They are named after a star, which is why they appear to appear from the sky. In the case of the 12P Ponce Brooks remains, it is believed that they may be responsible for a rain event called Kappa Draconis, visible between November 29 and December 13.
The next comet visible from the Canary Islands will be Qutingshan-ATLAS in early autumn.
About Comet 12P
Comet 12P Pons-Brooks is named after two of the most prolific comet observers of all time: Jean-Louis Pons and William R. Brooks.
Pons made one of his discoveries on July 12, 1812, when he saw a dark object that did not initially have a typical comet tail. Over the next month, it became bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. On August 15 of the same year, it reached maximum brightness and presented another tail.
For his part, Brooks observed the comet’s next passage through the inner Solar System on September 2, 1883, confirming that it was in fact the same comet that Pons had discovered 71 years earlier.
Due to the dual nature of the discovery, comet 12P now bears the names of both astronomers.