by Hazarry bin Haji Ali Ahmad
Bandar Seri Begawan – Keep an eye out for Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, it may brighten to naked eye visibility as it arrives perihelion in April.
Comet Pons Brooks will be at its closest distance of 116.8 million km to the Sun on Sunday, April 21 2024. It thus reached its maximum brightness of magnitude 4.2, expected visible to the unaided eye.
Comets are so unpredictable for sudden flare-ups in brightness, so you might get a chance to catch sight for this spectacular show.
From Brunei Darussalam, the comet will set in the west-northwest, hovering about 10 degrees above the horizon in the evening twilight all through April.
Like other comets, 12P/Pons-Brooks is made of a mixture of ice and rocky materials. As it approaches the Sun, these volatile matters transform to gas and dust which cause an expansive cloud (coma) and a distinctive tail.
By the end of April, it then fades very rapidly and moves back out into space. Comet Pons-Brooks will take another 71 years for it to complete another full journey around the sun – a once in a lifetime experience to see the cosmic wanderer!
Is the comet up in the sky now? Use the ephemeris data below and the online live chart to track comet Pons-Brooks in Brunei via https://www.bruneiastronomy.org/starchart
Updated on 09 April 2024
A once-in-a-lifetime Green Comet spotted from Brunei for the first time in 70 years today, 09 April 2024.
A cosmic wanderer about triple the size of Mount Everest officially cataloged as 12P/Pons-Brooks is now visible in Brunei Darussalam for the first time in more than seven decades – and it won’t be returning again until 2095.
The comet was clearly captured even on a small digital (smartphone) camera, and should be an easy target using binoculars or a telescope. Comet 12P displays a bright fuzzy green colour coma and a fascinating tail.
It is currently visible very low on the western horizon in the evening twilight. It is expected to become even brighter in the coming weeks as the comet approaches the sun on April 21, 2024.
Updated on 12 April 2024
Last Chance to see Comet Pons-Brooks at its best before vanishes until 2095
The periodic Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is currently passing near the Sun, and it will come as close as 116.8 million km to the sun on April 21, 2024.
It is now viewable over in the west horizon in the evening twilight from Brunei Darussalam and will reach as bright as a stellar magnitude 4.0 which is within naked eye limit.
The extraterrestrial object should appear as a fuzzy green blob with a hazy tail as viewed from a small telescope or binoculars.
Wait for darkness (after 7.15 pm), it is a simple cosmic target to be photographed – Get out your tripod, attach a medium lens and point the camera towards the west horizon.
From the northern hemisphere, comet 12P will remain viewable for the next 1 or 2 weeks before disappearing into the bright sun’s glare and proceeding into the southern sky.
By May, the giant comet will fade rapidly as it moves towards the outer solar system and won’t approach the Earth again in the next 71 years.
Updated on 14 April 2024
Horned Comet in Bruneian skies
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is nicknamed as “devil comet” for its unusual pointy shape. Just a week before its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion), The comet was photographed last night, April 14, 2024, from Tutong, which evidently displayed two distinct “horns” of gas and ice.
Comet 12P is a Halley-type periodic comet with an orbital period of about 71.3 years. In 2024, the icy wanderer is speeding through the inner solar system and expected to reach its maximum brightness, potentially becoming visible to the naked eye during the perihelion.
However, bright twilight and moonlight may wash out the comet’s brilliance, so skywatchers may need binoculars or telescopes to catch a glimpse.
