#Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks has crossed the threshold of binocular visibility. "It is now a 6th-magnitude object," reports Michael Jaeger, who made this 1-hour animation on March 2nd:

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COMET 12P IS COMING TO LIFE: With a new ice-geyser outburst on Feb. 29th, Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks has crossed the threshold of binocular visibility. "It is now a 6th-magnitude object," reports Michael Jaeger, who made this 1-hour animation on March 2nd:

"It was easy to see in my 6x30 viewfinder," he says. "The view reminded me of galaxy M13 with a 0.5° tail."

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is "cryovolcanic." Its surface is dotted with geysers which spew a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons and dissolved gasses when they are warmed by sunlight. There have been at least 6 significant eruptions since last December, one of them an incredible 5 magnitudes: light curve.

Right now, 12P is approaching the sun for a close encounter in April. Between now and then, forecasters expect 12P to brighten 10- to 15-fold, making it a naked-eye object at 3rd to 4th magnitude. This would be true even without any special geyser activity; the whole comet is sizzling as it approaches the sun. If any geysers do erupt in the weeks ahead, it could push the comet to even greater brightness.

Comet 12P has received a lot of attention because it could be visible during the April 8th solar eclipse. During totality, the comet will be close to Jupiter, both about 30 degrees from the eclipsed sun:

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