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Popular science media Space informs: on Sunday, April 21, comet 12P/Pons-Brooks flew to the closest point to the Sun and was at a distance of almost 117 million km. According to astronomers, this is equivalent to 75% of the distance from the Earth to the Sun.
At the beginning of June, the comet will be at its closest point to our planet before heading to the outer part of the solar system. A few days earlier, NASA's STEREO-A spacecraft had seen the comet temporarily lose its tail due to a collision with a coronal mass ejection ejected from the Sun.
Comet 12P/Ponce-Brooks was unexpectedly bombarded by a huge flow of solar plasma. This caused the comet's tail of gas and dust to break off for a while before re-emerging. Amateur astronomer Chris Schur recorded how the comet's tail curved after encountering a stream of plasma.
As for STEREO-A, a video created from its data shows Comet 12P/Ponce-Brooks streaking past the Sun alongside bright Jupiter, even though the two objects are actually trillions of kilometers apart.
The researchers explained: coronal mass ejections occur in the same way as solar flares, when the reconnection of the magnetic field lines on the Sun occurs. These lines break and then join together, resulting in a powerful emission of energy and solar particles.
Comet 12P/Ponce-Brooks is being actively monitored by astronomers because it frequently erupts and increases in brightness. The comet is currently at its brightest due to its close proximity to the Sun, so it should still be visible in the night sky with binoculars or a telescope for the next few days. Astronomers believe that when the comet approaches the Earth, it will be much more difficult to see it.
