As if things didn’t seem apocalyptic enough already, scientists reported that a “horned” comet three times bigger than Mount Everest exploded and is hurtling toward Earth.
The blast originated on Oct. 5 from 12P/Pons-Brooks a cryovolcanic — or cold volcano — comet that measures a colossal 18.6 miles in diameter, or the size of a small city, Live Science reported. For reference, Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth, is 29,029 feet high — or about 5.5 miles.
This marked the second time this interstellar ice cube erupted in the last four months, with the last celestial event occurring in July, the Science Times reported.
The British Astronomical Association, which is closely monitoring 12P, caught wise to this explosion after noticing that it appeared dozens of times brighter due to the light reflected by its coma — the cloud of gas surrounding its center.
For the uninitiated, such eruptions occur when a large level of gas and ice amasses and combusts like a frozen Coke can, causing the comet’s frosty insides to burst out of large cracks that form in the nucleus crust.
In this instance, the arctic blast caused the coma to sprout “horns” like some sort of intergalactic Beelzebub, as seen in accompanying photos. Scientists also compared the satanic shape to the Millennium Falcon spaceship from “Star Wars,” Space Weather Archive reported.
The cause of the horns is unclear, however, experts believe that it could be caused by the shape of 12P’s nucleus — à la an interstellar pasta strainer.
“The two ‘horns’ may be caused by a peculiarly-shaped cryovolcanic vent with some sort of blockage causing material to be expelled with a weird flow pattern,” said Richard Miles of the British Astronomical Association.
Despite 12P’s ominous trajectory and shape, there’s no need to brace for “Deep Impact” just yet. The celestial hailstone — which orbits around the sun every 71 years — won’t reach its closest point to Earth until 2024, whereupon it will become visible to the naked eye. This comet will then be catapulted back into the solar system, and won’t make its cosmic comeback tour until the year 2095.
