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A comet larger than Mount Everest will be seen in Australian skies in the coming weeks for the first time in 70 years.
Comet 12/P Pons-Brooks, nicknamed “Diablo” or “Mother of Dragons” because of its horned tail, will be visible to Australians for a short period without any special equipment.
This opportunity to detect the comet with the naked eye will occur during the early hours of April 22, Australian National University astrophysicist Brad Tucker told 7News.
To see it, simply look up before dawn. The comet will appear as a “fuzzy green dot.”
“Venus is the bright star in the morning sky; if you can see where Venus is, look down and the comet will be somewhere on that line between the Sun and Venus,” Mr Tucker explained.
‘If you’re in a dark place, you should be able to see it with the naked eye. But if you have a pair of binoculars, even if they are small, it will be great.’
Skilled stargazers will be able to view the comet in the coming weeks with a telescope as it travels toward the sun before returning to the far reaches of the solar system.
Comet 12/P Pons-Brooks, or Comet Diablo (pictured), will be visible in Australian skies in mid-April as a “fuzzy green dot” as it passes by on its way toward the sun.
The comet’s famous horns come from “cryovolcanic eruptions” of ice that heat rapidly during its approach to the sun.
Each flare creates a new “tail” as gas, dust and ice shoot out from the comet’s surface and become visible along with the steady tail seen on other comets.
The comet has been seen in the sky over the northern hemisphere since mid-March. However, it has not yet been visible in the southern hemisphere because it has been below the horizon there.
Now, as the comet continues to approach the Sun in its orbit, it will also be visible here.
“As it gets closer to the sun, that’s when it gets brighter because more gas comes out of it.”
Australians will be able to see the comet with the naked eye on the morning of April 22, but they may need binoculars to see it as it won’t be as bright (file image)
The comet will reach its closest point to Earth in June and will remain visible in the sky until July, but only with a telescope.
It will then fly past the Sun and exit the inner solar system, not to be seen for another 71 years.
Stargazers will be able to see a potential “large comet” in October when Tsuchinshan-ATLAS reaches its closest point to Earth.
It has the potential to “become visible to the naked eye and rival in luminosity the brightest stars in the sky,” according to walk of the stars.