As of: March 27, 2024, 5:00 p.m
By: Paul Eisbach
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Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks can currently be seen in the evening sky over Hesse.
Where are the best places to watch the celestial spectacle?
Hesse - After 70 years, comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, also called the devil's comet because of its distinctive "horns", is returning to our solar system.
With a bit of luck and equipped with binoculars, stargazers in Hesse can look forward to this rare celestial spectacle.
In the last days of March until April 10th, 12P/Pons-Brooks comes so close to the sun that in the evening shortly after dusk it is visible just above the horizon in the west or northwest.
When the sky is clear, its distinctive tail can be seen as a milky, blurry “star,” explains comet expert Uwe Pilz from the Association of Star Friends (VdS) to Merkur.de.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks can be seen in the sky in March and early April 2024 - you are guaranteed to see it with binoculars, and with the naked eye if the sky is clear.
© IMAGO/Christian Grube
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks returns over Hesse after 70 years
The comet returns to our solar system approximately every 71 years; it was last observed in 1954.
12P/Pons-Brooks was first spotted in 1812 by the French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons.
In 1883, the English astronomer William Robert Brooks was able to observe the return of the periodic comet.
The comet nucleus of 12P/Pons-Brooks has a diameter of about 30 kilometers and consists of chunks of matter and dust.
It is held together by ice.
When a comet approaches the sun, the ice evaporates, dust and chunks of matter break away and form a comet's tail.
The best places in Hesse to observe the comet
Suitable places to observe the rare celestial spectacle from Hesse can be found in the Vogelsberg, in the Kellerwald and on the Wasserkuppe or the Maulkuppe in the Rhön.
The darker the places, the easier it is to observe the natural spectacle, recommends Sabine Frank, the star park representative from the Fulda district, to
HR
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Its perihelion, the closest point in its orbit to the Sun, reaches 12P/Pons-Brooks in mid-April.
This is when the comet shines brightest.
However, it is already too late to be able to observe him.
With the arrival of spring, the days become noticeably longer and longer; before it would be dark enough to observe the comet, it has already disappeared behind the horizon.
(Paul Eisbach)