A rare volcanic comet on a trajectory toward the sun has exhibited a remarkable event, leading to its “horn-like” appearance after an explosion that caused it to radiate like a miniature star and disperse supercold “magma” into space.

This unusual comet, known as 12P/Pons-Brooks (12P), is a cryovolcanic comet, distinguished by its icy composition containing a combination of ice, dust, and gas.

Enveloped by a gaseous cloud called a coma, the celestial object typically expels gas from its core, Live Science has reported.

However, 12P’s nucleus accumulates an excess of gas and ice, resulting in violent eruptions that propel its icy contents, referred to as cryomagma, through fissures in its outer shell.

Recently, on July 20, multiple astronomers observed a significant outburst from the comet, causing it to become approximately 100 times brighter than its usual luminosity, according to Spaceweather.com.

This surge in brightness was triggered by the sudden expansion of the comet’s coma, releasing copious amounts of gas and ice crystals from its interior, thereby reflecting more sunlight back to Earth.

As of July 26, the comet’s coma has remarkably expanded to approximately 143,000 miles (230,000 kilometers) in diameter, over 7,000 times larger than its nucleus, which measures an estimated 18.6 miles (30 km) in diameter, as confirmed by Richard Miles, an astronomer from the British Astronomical Association.

Interestingly, this expanded coma has taken on an irregular shape, giving the comet a striking resemblance to having “sprouted horns.”

Some experts have even likened the peculiarly deformed comet to the iconic spaceship, the Millennium Falcon, from the Star Wars franchise, as reported by Spaceweather.com. T

his fascinating eruption marks the first time in nearly 70 years that the comet 12P/Pons-Brooks has been observed in such a state.

Written by staff