织女星与彗星12P/庞士-布鲁克斯

2023年12月8日

Vega and Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks
Image Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett

Explanation: On December 4, periodic Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks shared this telescopic field of view with Vega, alpha star of the northern constellation Lyra. Fifth brightest star in planet Earth’s night, Vega is some 25 light-years distant while the much fainter comet was about 21 light-minutes away. In recent months, outbursts have caused dramatic increases in brightness for Pons-Brooks though. Nicknamed the Devil Comet for its hornlike appearance, fans of interstellar spaceflight have also suggested the distorted shape of this comet’s large coma looks like the Millenium Falcon. A Halley-type comet, 12P/Pons-Brooks last visited the inner Solar System in 1954. Its next perihelion passage or closest approach to the Sun will be April 21, 2024. That’s just two weeks after the April 8 total solar eclipse path crosses North America. But, highly inclined to the Solar System’s ecliptic plane, the orbit of periodic Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks will never cross the orbit of planet Earth.

Tomorrow’s picture: light-weekend

织女星与彗星12P/庞士-布鲁克斯
影像提供与版权: Dan Bartlett

说明: 在今年的12月4日，周期彗星12P/庞士-布鲁克斯与天琴座的最亮星织女分享了这片望远镜视野。距离地球约25光年的织女，是地球夜空的第五亮星，而这颗远为昏暗的彗星，距离地球约21光分。不过在最近的这几个月，爆发导致庞士-布鲁克斯的亮度急剧增加。因其长角的外观，这颗彗星有魔鬼彗星的昵称，不过，星际飞航的粉丝们则会认为这颗拥有扭曲大彗发的彗星，其实形似千年鹰号。哈雷型彗星12P/Pons-Brooks，上次造访太阳系内围是在1954年。它在2024年4月21日，将再次通过近日点这个最接近太阳的位置，这个时间点紧在日全食路径于4月8日穿过北美洲后的2星期。不过，由于它相对于太阳系黄道面的高倾角，周期彗星12P/庞士-布鲁克斯的轨道永远不会和地球的轨道交错。 （Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks 彗星12P/庞士-布鲁克斯； Millenium Falcon 千年鹰号）

明日的图片: light-weekend