The End is Near: Massive “Devil Comet” set to Explode
A horned “devil comet” known as 12P is hurtling towards Earth and is expected to explode in the coming days, causing concern among some. The massive comet is 18.6 miles in diameter and filled with a large amount of gas and ice. Its cryovolcano, a vent that functions as a volcano, erupts when exposed to the sun. The eruptions happen at 15-day intervals, with the next one set to occur Friday or Saturday.
Nick James, of the British Astronomical Association, described the recent outbursts of 12P as being on a 15-day cadence and warned that another one may be imminent. Richard Miles of the BAA likened the comet to “Old Faithful,” describing it as having a super cryogeyser that erupts after local sunrise at its location.
Previous eruptions caused the comet to sprout horns, though they have become less pronounced in recent days. While a telescope is currently needed to see the horns or eruption, it is expected that in the spring, observers should be able to view it with the naked eye.
Despite the ominous description of the “devil comet,” residents of Earth need not worry. NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office runs the Asteroid Watch program, which tracks every possible danger to the Earth. The organization’s catalog is so advanced that it can track hazards centuries into the future.
Lindley Johnson, NASA’s planetary defense officer and lead program executive for the Planetary Defense Coordination Office, reassured the public, saying, “Once we find them, we can determine their orbits and know if any of them are going to be any threat to the Earth for the next century or so. So we can actually have quite a bit of warning, decades of warning; we just need to continue to look and project those orbits out.”
So while the prospect of a satanic, exploding comet may be alarming to some, NASA’s advanced technology and vigilant monitoring ensure that residents of Earth can rest easy.