It cannot be seen with the naked eye (the last one, in 1997, was Hale-Bopp), but it is Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is a sight not to be missed in the sky. Some images of the star with the tail were obtained from the position of Virtual Telescope Project which is operational in Manciano, in the Grosseto area, in one of the skies freest from light pollution in all of Italy.
What is the comet
12P/Pons-Brooks is a periodic comet, which returns to visit the Sun approximately every 71 years. It is placed within the family of the most famous Halley's Comet. He came discovered on 12 July 1812 by the astronomer Jean-Louis Pons and rediscovered in the following passage by William Robert Brooks from whom it takes its name.
The passage
In this passage the comet shows increases in brightness, called outburst. Since July, about ten have been registered. The first gave it a similar shape, according to what Virtual Telescope reports, to the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo's ship in Star Wars.
«In these evenings we have obtained some extraordinary images of this comet», said Gianluca Masi, astrophysicist, Scientific Director of the Virtual Telescope Project, «which shows a continuously changing tail, very rich in detailslike the regions closest to the nucleus”.
How to see the comet
Binoculars are enough to observe the comet, although obviously it is best seen with more sophisticated instruments such as telescopes. The best time is about 90 minutes after sunset. It is located low on the North-West horizon, among the stars of the constellation Andromeda. In early April it may become faintly visible to the naked eye, under dark skies. From the middle of that month visibility from our hemisphere will become increasingly difficult. Perihelion, the moment of passage around the Sun, is set for April 21 at a distance from our star of 0.78 astronomical units.
The Virtual Telescope Project will show comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in live streaming through its instruments, installed under the pure, starry sky of Manciano, the darkest in peninsular Italy. Participation is free. Simply access the site on March 12th at 7.30 pm https://www.virtualtelescope.eu.
Source: Vanity Fair
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