(NEXSTAR) – Adding to the growing excitement surrounding the 2024 total solar eclipse is the return of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, also known as the “Devil Comet.”
The comet’s name derives from its hornlike appearance, which some “Star Wars” fans have also likened to the Millennium Falcon, according to NASA.
The comet, known both for its distorted shape and recent explosive outbursts, orbits the Sun once every 71.2 years, according to Astronomy Magazine, comparable to Halley’s Comet.
The return of the “Devil Comet” is especially thrilling for many skywatchers, as experts project that it will be visible during the Great American Eclipse, thanks to the darkness of totality.
“The comet would be located about 25 degrees away from the eclipsed sun,” Dr. Paul Chodas, manager of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, and Davide Farnocchia, navigation engineer, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, told CNN in an email. “The comet should be fairly easy to find during the total solar eclipse, as well as a number of planets, but the main focus during those 4 minutes should be on the eclipse itself!”
If you want to see the comet at night before it moves to the daytime sky April 2, the last 10 days of March are the best viewing window, said Chodas and Fanocchia, who also recommended traveling away from bright city lights and using binoculars to get the best view. To see the “Devil Comet,” make sure you have a good view of the western horizon.
Despite the comet’s recent volatility and grim nickname, there’s no need to worry about a collision with Earth, according to EarthSky. At its closest, the “Devil Comet” will pass harmlessly by our planet in June, 2024 at about 1.5 times the distance between the Earth and the sun.
