织女星和彗星12P/庞斯-布鲁克斯
(原标题: Vega and Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks)
2023-12-08
浏览次数: 53
12月4日，周期彗星12P/Pons-Brooks与天琴座北部的阿尔法星织女星共享了这张望远镜视野。织女星是地球夜空中第五亮的恒星，距离地球约25光年，而较暗的彗星距离地球约21光分。最近几个月，爆发引起了庞斯-布鲁克斯的亮度急剧增加。由于其角状的外表被称为“魔鬼彗星”，星际太空飞行的粉丝们还认为，这颗大彗星的中央彗发的扭曲形状看起来像“千年隼”。哈雷彗星12P/Pons-Brooks最后一次造访内太阳系是在1954年。它下一次经过近日点或最接近太阳的时间将是2024年4月21日。这是在4月8日日全食路径穿过北美后的两周。但是，周期彗星12P/Pons-Brooks的轨道高度倾斜于太阳系的黄道面，永远不会越过地球的轨道。
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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 large comet's central 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.
© Dan Bartlett