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All we know about iceball comet, 3 times the size of Mount Everest, hurtling towards Earth
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  • All we know about iceball comet, 3 times the size of Mount Everest, hurtling towards Earth

All we know about iceball comet, 3 times the size of Mount Everest, hurtling towards Earth

FP Explainers • October 19, 2023, 19:32:26 IST
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Three times the size of Mount Everest, 12P/Pons-Brooks comet has burst into space and is now heading towards Earth. Scientists say there’s no need to brace for ‘deep impact’ just yet, despite 12P’s ominous track and shape

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All we know about iceball comet, 3 times the size of Mount Everest, hurtling towards Earth

Three times the size of Mount Everest comet has burst in space and is currently heading towards Earth. It is known as a cryovolcanic comet, or cold volcano comet, and has been given the name 12P/Pons-Brooks. This interplanetary ice cube erupted on 5 October, making it the second occurrence in the previous four months. The Science Times reports that the most recent cosmic event took place in July. For those unversed, Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth. Its height is 29,029 feet, or around 5.5 miles. Let’s take a closer look. About the iceball comet Dailymail explained that the 12P/Pons-Brooks is composed of ice, dust, and gases that function somewhat like carbonation in a fizzy drink bottle. Its solid nucleus is believed to have an 18.6 mile (30 km) diameters, according to New York Post. This is because the cryomagma is heated by the sun, pressure builds inside it until an explosion of nitrogen and carbon monoxide sends frozen debris flying through wide fractures in the shell of the nucleus. The British Astronomical Association, which is closely watching the comet, learnt about this explosion when they noticed that it looked to be hundreds of times brighter due to the light reflected by its coma, the cloud of gas surrounding its nucleus.

Earth just passed thru the Draconids which peaked Oct 21's. This meteor shower is us passing thru the debris track for Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks' 71 year, long period orbit. pic.twitter.com/q7cbkwZHnM

— The Grinch That Tried To Warn You (@ShoreProgress) October 18, 2023

The icy blast in this case led the coma to develop “horns,” making it resemble some kind of interplanetary Beelzebub. Although the exact reason of the horns is unknown, experts think that the nucleus’s form of 12P may be to blame. According to Richard Miles of the British Astronomical Association, quoted in the New York Post, “The two ‘horns’ may be caused by a peculiarly-shaped cryovolcanic vent with some sort of blockage causing the material to be expelled with a weird flow pattern.” According to Space Weather Archive, scientists have also drawn comparisons between the demonic shape and the Millennium Falcon spacecraft from Star Wars. The last time the space rock was visible to the naked eye from Earth was in 1954. It is around the same size as the famous Halley’s comet, reported Dailymail. It is often referred to as a “Halley-type comet” because, unlike other comets, which take thousands of years to complete one orbit of the sun, its 71-year orbit puts it on par with history’s most well-known space rock, which completes one orbit in about 75 years. No deep impact on Earth There is no immediate need to prepare for “deep impact” notwithstanding 12P’s dread trajectory and shape. The cosmic hailstone won’t be visible to the human eye until it passes close to Earth in 2024. It won’t make its cosmic comeback until 2095 after which this comet will be launched back into the solar system. Second explosion in four months NDTV reported that this is 12P’s second explosion since 20 July, when the intergalactic snowball burst its stack for the first time in 69 years. The horn-shaped emissions that were produced during this explosion were 7,000 times wider than the comet itself. The coma has subsequently returned to its normal size but might draw greater attention the next year if it keeps exploding, which Space Weather Archive predicts will happen. According to Miles, 12P is one of 20 known comets with active ice volcanoes. It was first identified on 12 July 1812, by Jean-Louis Pons. With inputs from agencies

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Star Wars Mount Everest Comet Halley's Comet Space rock Comet Explosion Astronomy News Comet Halley
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