Northern Hemisphere observers will fondly remember the appearance of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in our skies, as the Devil Comet became one of the big highlights of a wonderful array of comets visible during the first half of 2024.
The comet even made an appearance during the 8 April eclipse, as something of a grand finale before its final exit.
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks disappeared from our skies as April 2024 drew to a close, and is now visible in the Southern Hemisphere night sky, as this image from comet-chaser José J. Chambó shows.
José captured it from the Atacama Desert, world-famous as an astronomical dark-sky site and home of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope and ALMA array.
"Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks continues to offer its spectacle from the Southern Hemisphere," José says.
"In this image, taken remotely on 29 May 2024 from the Atacama Desert, I finally achieved the freedom to capture a clear view of the display of tails emanating from its greenish coma.
"The bluish and structured ion tail to the left, the broad dust tail fanning out 180 degrees towards the top, and the anti-tail pointing like a narrow beam of light to the right."
Details
- Camera: ZWO ASI 2600 MM Pro
- Telescope: Takahasi Epsilon 180ED f/2.8
- Mount: Paramount MyT
- Exposure: 7 min. (L=2x120 bin1 + RGB=1x60 bin2)
- Processing: PixInsight
See more of José's work at www.cometografia.es
If you're based in the Southern Hemisphere and manage to observe or image Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, please get in touch via contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com.
