"Devil's Comet", the size of Manhattan, is approaching the Earth
The massive Devil's Comet is heading toward Earth. 12P/Pons-Brooks will be visible from Earth for the first time in 71 years in April 2024.
According to Newsweek, the size of the comet is the same as the city of Manhattan in the United States, 87.5 square kilometers. The comet, known to scientists as 12P/Ponce-Brooks, last appeared in the Earth's sky more than 70 years ago.
Typically, comets are 0.6 to 2.8 miles wide, explained Teddy Kareta, a postdoctoral researcher at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff.
"We know this is big. We know it's an outlier. We know it's rare," he told Insider.
Next spring, he said, the bright comet will come as close to Earth as possible. It can be seen with the naked eye or binoculars.
Its "horns" of gas and dust were formed by a series of explosions that scientists still cannot understand.
According to Kareta, an "outburst" is "where comets suddenly become much more active," spewing tons of gas and dust in a short period of time. When this happens, the comet gets brighter very quickly and then seems to return to its previous brightness.
Two giant planets collided and evaporated in a star system. After their death, a "donut" was spotted in space.
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