Approaching Earth, the 'ice volcano' erupts and grows horns.

According to Live Science, 12P/Pons-Brooks attracted attention because of the strange horn-like growths on its enormous "body".

On July 20th, a tremendous explosion blew away these horns. The eruption, in the form of an "ice volcano," was so powerful that its coma expanded to 230,000 km, more than 7,000 times wider than the comet's nucleus.

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. (Photo: Comet Chasers/Richard Miles)

A coma, also known as a "comet head," is the spectacular halo that surrounds comets as they approach the Sun, causing the comet's cold material to sublimate.

In observational data from October 2023, another "ice volcano" eruption was recorded by the British Astronomical Association (BAA), an event that made the comet appear dozens of times brighter than usual.

A few days later, its coma continued to expand and a new pair of bizarre horns grew, according to Spaceweather.com.

Some experts jokingly say that the unusual shape of the coma makes this comet look like a spaceship from a science fiction movie, for example, the Millennium Falcon from "Star Wars".

According to astronomer Richard Miles from BAA, the unusual shape of the coma may be due to the comet's own nucleus, causing gas to escape unevenly in different areas.

12P/Pons-Brooks is hurtling toward the innermost reaches of the solar system, in an elliptical orbit that lasts 71 years around our parent star.

12P/Pons-Brooks will make its closest approach to Earth on April 21, 2024. Due to its brightness and enormous size, it will be visible to the naked eye. It will not visit us again until 2095.

(Source: Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper/Spaceweather.com.)

Source: https://vtc.vn/sap-ap-sat-trai-dat-nui-lua-bang-bung-no-roi-moc-sung-ar827694.html