A volcanic comet the size of a city has grown ‘horns’ after a major eruption on its journey past Earth.
The unusual occurrence was spotted when the comet, named 12P/Pons-Brooks (12P), suddenly began to shine dozens of times brighter in the sky.
Shortly after, two streaks of light emerged from the comet, giving it a devilish appearance.
Comets are icy balls of dust, rock and gas. Unlike most others however, 12P/Pons-Brooks is a cold volcano – or cryovolcanic – comet.
As it gets closer to the Sun, the gas and ice crystals inside the 18-mile wide comet begin to heat up, building up pressure inside.
Eventually this can lead to a violent eruption, shooting out streams of ‘cryomagma’ through cracks in the surface. The cryomagma creates a ‘coma’, or haze around the comet, which reflects sunlight – the comet itself does not emit any light itself.
And in this case, the coma has given it the appearance of sprouting horns – or as others have suggested, the same silhouette as the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars.
It is the second such eruption this year, the comet having undergone a similar evolution in August.
On that occasion it was the first time in 69 years astronomers had been able to spot an eruption on the comet.
The British Astronomical Association, which reported the eruption, has not yet given any indication how big the ‘horns’ are this time, but in August the comet’s coma grew to around 143,000 miles across, around 7,000 bigger than the comet itself.
12P/Pons-Brooks orbits the Sun once every 71 years, and will reach its closest point to our star on April 21 next year. In an incredible stroke of luck, the comet will be approaching this point, known as perihelion, during a total solar eclipse across North America, which will make for some stunning photos.
The curious comet will make its closest approach to Earth a few months later on June 2, but while it is classified by Nasa as a ‘near-Earth object’, there is no risk of this horned comet hitting the planet.
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