How to spot rare comet this week
Despite being the worst place in Australia to view the comet, Tasmanians will have a rare chance of witnessing Comet 12/ P/Pons-Brooks in our night sky over the coming week.
The comet, which has been dubbed Devil Comet because its eruptions make it look like it has two horns, only appears about every 70 years.
Ulverstone Planetarium principal astronomer Dr Martin George has a few tips on how to spot the comet, which can be tricky to see.
“Binoculars will be helpful, and each evening there is a limited window of time during which to look,” he wrote in Talking Point on Saturday.
“Comets are icy objects, typically several kilometres across, that orbit the Sun. They do not dash across the sky; like planets, they appear in slightly different directions each night as they, like us, orbit our star.”
Comet 12/P/Pons-Brooks was discovered by French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons, and found the comet orbits the Sun about every 70 years with his observations in July 1812.
“The reason that comets such as Halley and PonsBrooks make infrequent appearances is that their orbits are very elongated, shaped like very thin ovals, taking them to great distances from the Sun,” Dr George wrote.
“They swoop through the inner Solar System, where we are located, every several decades, passing around the sun before returning to the faraway extreme ends of their ovals.”
The comet can be spotted low in the sky in the northwest during the evening, in the constellation of Taurus.
The best time to view the comet will be about 6.30pm each day.