A comet returning after seven decades and putting on a spectacular show in our solar system is expected to soon appear at the highly-anticipated April total solar eclipse over North America.
It took 71 years—but Comet P12/Pons-Brooks has finally returned to our inner solar system after traversing its gargantuan elliptical orbit around the sun. The last time it reached perihelion (its point closest to the sun) was in May 1954, the same year Elvis Presley recorded his second demo at Sun Studios in Memphis.
It must have been a cold and lonely journey for the comet. But in 2020, astronomers finally reacquired visual contact with P12/Pons-Brooks. And as it headed down the last leg toward the sun, its visage was only enhanced.
Essentially a conglomeration of frozen gas and space dust leftover from the formation of the solar system ages ago, comets have a dense, cold nucleus that often lies dormant. When they near the sun, however, solar radiation causes dramatic outbursts in them as frozen gas sublimates, forming often-spectacular clouds of debris around them called coma.
More outbursts followed throughout the summer, fall, and winter of 2023, increasing the comet’s brightness as it grew warmer. Until it finally became visible to the naked eye in early March 2024, glowing with a brightness magnitude of 5.5. The comet’s intensity will soon reach its peak as it approaches perihelion at 0.781 astronomical units (72.6 million miles) from the sun on April 21.
Ordinarily, comets vanish from view at this final stage, as the blinding glare of the sun washes them out completely. That would be the case for P12/Pons-Brooks also—except for its extraordinary convergence with the coming April total solar eclipse.
On April 8, over 32 million in North America will witness what has been billed as becoming the most watched eclipse in history. For a relatively long duration of over 4 minutes of totality, the round, black, new moon will block out the sun, casting a complete shadow that will swipe along a ribbon from the Pacific shores of Mexico, across 10 states of America, ending in Atlantic Canada, from which the eclipse will be visible.
Our comet is set to join the cosmic show. So will two of the solar system’s planets: Venus, the brightest planet, will appear on one side of the sun. And Jupiter, the second brightest planet, will appear on the other side. And right in the thick of things? You guessed it, P12/Pons-Brooks will shine between Jupiter and the sun, though closer to the gaseous giant planet, a mere 25 degrees away from the eclipsed sun.
The moment of totality is said to elicit darkness like nighttime—or at least twilight. Both planets and stars may become visible during totality, while the Earthly landscape may take on an otherworldly appearance as if illuminated by a strange star. And should awe-struck sky watchers be willing to tear their eyes away from the once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse, they might spot the comet, blazing away near its perihelion at peak brightness.
As the comet and eclipse converge on the day of April 8, it is imperative to take safety precautions. Never look at an eclipse that has not reached totality without proper eye protection. It could cause serious damage to the eyes to use binoculars or a telescope to view the event. Sunglasses are no substitute for proper solar eclipse glasses which are thousands of times darker.
A few weeks later, the comet will reach perihelion on April 24 before departing outward. But before it bids farewell to the inner solar system, P12/Pons-Brooks will reach its point closest to Earth.
With the comet’s 18-mile diameter, roughly three times larger than Mount Everest, we’re very fortunate it won’t come anywhere near Earth. The comet will reach a distance of 1.55 astronomical units (144 million miles) away, so there is no chance of a collision.
It will graze harmlessly by the Earth and not return for another 71 years, nearing the sun again in 2095. For many, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime event.
The French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons first spotted the comet at Marseilles Observatory in 1812. Upon its subsequent return in 1883, it was William Robert Brooks who first visually reacquired the comet. Although P12/Pons-Brooks got its name from these European discoverers, records show it was also observed by the Ming Dynasty Chinese as early as 1385.
