View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jeremy Likness in Otter Rock, Oregon, captured Comet Pons-Brooks on March 31, 2024. Jeremy wrote: “In the short window between dawn and dusk, the Devil Comet (known for the crescent shape of its nucleus that in some images looks like horns) rapidly began to set while passing near the brilliant star Hamal. I named this image the Devil’s Diamond.” Thank you, Jeremy!
Have you seen Comet Pons-Brooks yet? This fuzzy ball of ice and dust is making its way toward the sun. Its closest approach to the sun will be on April 21. So it’ll be near the sun in our sky on eclipse day, April 8. Read about seeing the comet on eclipse day here. With the help of binoculars or a telescope, you can currently spot this comet in the evening sky. Right now, it is in the northwest shortly after sunset. It’s been getting brighter! It might also become visible under dark skies to the unaided eye!
And if you don’t live near dark skies or are battling clouds, you can see the comet right here, in beautiful images from the EarthSky community. If you’ve taken a great photo of the comet, submit it to us here!
During the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, the sky will darken enough that you should be able to see Venus and Jupiter. Comet Pons-Brooks will be close to Jupiter. Image via Stellarium/ Kelly Kizer Whitt. See Comet Pons-Brooks on eclipse day!
Comet Pons-Brooks and the Andromeda galaxy
In March, the comet was near the Andromeda galaxy in the constellation Andromeda in our sky, and astrophotographers captured some great shots of them together! The comet is now in the constellation Aries.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jeremy Likness at Agate Beach, Newport, Oregon, shared this composite image from March 16, 2024, and wrote: “At Agate beach, a ship light glows red on the horizon. If you look carefully, you can see the light from the lighthouse fan out from Yaquina Head like a headlight. Above the ship is the distinctive comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. It is threading the needle between the Triangulum galaxy to the left and the Andromeda galaxy to the right. Jupiter shines brightly to the left, beneath the Pleiades. I timed the shot so I could capture the International Space Station transit that happened at 9:05pm that evening.” Thank you, Jeremy!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Peter Greig from Duddo, Northumberland, U.K., shared this image on March 15, 2024. Peter wrote: “Finally got some clear skies on Friday evening. So I headed up to Duddo Five Stones in Northumberland, U.K. to capture my first image of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks with the Andromeda galaxy. I had a right battle with the moonlight, but I’m pleased with the result.” You look like a rockstar! Thank you.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Basudeb Chakrabarti and Samit Saha from Gharwan, Himachal Pradesh, India, shared this image of Comet Pons-Brooks from March 7 to March 9, 2024, with the Andromeda galaxy. Stunning! Thank you.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Osama Fathi at the Black Desert, Egypt, captured Comet Pons-Brooks, the Andromeda galaxy and a meteor on March 8, 2024! All in 1. Thank you, Osama.
Will you see Comet Pons-Brooks during the eclipse?
Comet Pons-Brooks visits the inner solar system every 71 years. Its next perihelion (when it’s closest to the sun) will be on April 21, 2024. That will put the comet fairly close to the sun during the total solar eclipse of April 8, 2024. But will you see the comet during the eclipse? And should you even try to look for it?
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Rui Santos in Leiria, Portugal, captured this image of Comet Pons-Brooks on March 13, 2024. This is the comet you might see in the daytime sky, near the sun in total eclipse, on April 8. View a chart below. Rui wrote: “I felt amazed by the sight of the comet, its tail stretching majestically across the sky. It’s a scene that seems to transcend time and space.” Thank you, Rui! We’ve been getting some beautiful images of this comet from our talented community of photographers.
More images of the comet and galaxy
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Basudeb Chakrabarti from Gharwan, Himachal Pradesh, India, shared this image captured by Samit Raz Saha on March 7, 2024. Basudeb wrote: “Currently located in the Andromeda constellation, comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is 247,124,592 kilometers (153,000,000 miles) away from Earth. Being at a dark location, Samit Raz Saha had the opportunity to capture this magnificent comet along with the Andromeda galaxy. I sincerely thank Samit Saha for giving me the opportunity to post process the data.” Thank you both!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Southold, New York, captured this view of Comet Pons-Brooks and the Andromeda galaxy on March 11, 2024. Steven wrote: “Although the comet is only 250 million kilometers (155 million miles) from Earth, with Andromeda 23 trillion kilometers (14 trillion miles) distant, they are now sharing the same part of the sky.” Thank you, Steven!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Petr Horálek in Revuca, Slovakia, captured Comet Pons-Brooks on March 5, 2024. Petr also captured the Andromeda galaxy along with “a distant tree, the fog illuminated by the passing cars.” Thank you, Petr!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Paolo Bardelli at Campo dei Fiori, Varese, Italy, shared this image of the comet and M31, the Andromeda galaxy, on March 7, 2024. Paolo wrote: “A finally successful attempt to photograph Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. It was during a rare evening, quite cloud-free, in a period characterized by an infinite passage of cloud fronts …” Thank you, Paolo!
More images of the comet
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Radu Anghel from Ivanesti, Romania, captured this image on March 9, 2024. Radu wrote: “If it is a weekend with clear skies and a comet is close by, at the limit of the unaided-eye visibility, there is no other choice but to answer the call for astrophotography! Last evening I drove for more than an hour and a half to a place with Bortle 4 skies. Just perfect for another comet image on my humble collection.” Wonderful! Thank you.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Southold, New York, captured this image of Comet Pons-Brooks on February 25, 2024. Steven wrote: “This comet might be visible to the unaided eye during the total solar eclipse. It is 24 degrees east of the sun and only 6 degrees west of Jupiter.” Thank you, Steven!
Bottom line: Have you seen Comet Pons-Brooks already? If not, here are some beautiful images from our talented community of photographers. Enjoy them!
Cristina Ortiz - based in Granada, Spain - has been an EarthSky editor since 2021. "Since I was a kid," she says, "I could feel that passion for science and communication." Cristina has a master’s degree in translation and interpreting, specializing in science and technology. She has served as a translator, interpreter and proofreader in both science and technology for various media organizations, including Netflix, and for museums and other companies.
Like what you read? Subscribe and receive daily news delivered to your inbox.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
