A once in a lifetime event, the explosion of Comet 17P, and its coma (a dust cloud illuminated by the sun) that has grown bigger than Jupiter in size is now visible to the naked eye since it has unexpectedly brightened over the past few weeks... About 12 days ago, it was visible only through a telescope, until it suddenly started expanding after a sudden eruption..
The reason of the eruption is not very clear, however, scientists speculate the comet has exploded because there are sinkholes in its nucleus, giving it a honeycomb-like structure. The collapse exposed comet ice to the sun, which transformed the ice into gas which can now be seen in the from of its coma. The interesting fact to note here is that it lacks a tail, which is usually associated with such celestial bodies..
The easiest way to spot it (i'm kind of playing it fast and loose with the word 'easy' since we hardly get clear skies here at Manipal) is to look towards the constellation Perseus in the northern sky.. The comet appears as a blurry spot of light (about the same brightness as of the stars in the Ursa Major constellation).
It is an absolutely spectacular phenomenon, along the lines of when comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into Jupiter back in 1994.. So those who are lucky enough to spot it can share their views and comments here..
-Mohit Gidwani
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