(ANSA) – Rome – Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks continues to fascinate Italian amateur astronomers: after a photo taken during its approach to the Sun, it has been immortalized once again by the Palidoro group of amateur astronomers as it lights up the sky at sunset. The indigo sky above an old farmhouse and its impact on the gates of Rome.
“This is a truly magical view of the sunset of comet 12P/Pons Brooks, captured on March 21, 2024 at Casale Delle Pietrische, property of the Agricultural University of Manziana,” the amateur astronomers explained in a note.
The image was obtained by Marco D'Angelo, who took one 30-second shot of the torch-lit farm, while taking 10 60-second shots of the sky.
Then everything was put together with the help of Giuseppe Cuonzo, head of the Palidoro group of amateur astronomers.
Comet 12P returns to visit the Sun approximately every 71 years, which is why it falls into the family of periodic comets, like the more famous Halley's Comet.
Discovered on 12 July 1812 by astronomer Jean-Louis Pons, Comet 12P was rediscovered on its next pass (1883) by William Robert Brooks, from which it also takes its name.
Their distinctive feature, as astrophysicist Gianluca Masi of the Vertol Telescope project explained, is large increases in brightness, or so-called “pops.”
During its current passage, twelve of them have already been recorded since last July: the first gave its coma an irregular shape resembling the famous Millennium Falcon spaceship from Star Wars and earned it the nickname “horned” comet. (I forget).
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