{"id":55391,"date":"2024-03-05T14:11:34","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T14:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/0dabdf49-47dc-451b-a98f-2cf37db7a74d"},"modified":"2024-03-05T14:32:31","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T14:32:31","slug":"comet-12p-pons-brooks-key-dates-for-observing-in-march","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/comet-12p-pons-brooks-key-dates-for-observing-in-march\/","title":{"rendered":"Comet 12P\/Pons\u2013Brooks: Key dates for observing in March"},"content":{"rendered":"

Comet 12P\/Pons\u2013Brooks could approach naked-eye in March, as it tracks from Andromeda to Pisces. <\/p>

By Pete Lawrence\n <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 05 March 2024 at 14:11 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Comet 12P\/Pons\u2013Brooks is one of a handful of bright comets in the sky in 2024<\/a> that have got comet-chasers and astronomers talking, and you really should seek it out this month.<\/p>

12 P\/Pons-Brooks is predicted to brighten from mag. 7.1 to 5.2 throughout March, the latter value taking it close to naked-eye territory.<\/p>

There\u2019s a bit of cosmic balance at play too, because whereas C\/2021 S3 PanSTARRS<\/a> is best in the early morning sky, 12P is one comet<\/a> that’s best in the evening sky.<\/p>

Find out what comets and asteroids are in the sky tonight<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Chart showing the location of Comet 12P\/ Pons\u2013Brooks in March 2024. Click on the chart to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
**Comet 12P\/Pons\u2013Brooks key dates<\/strong><\/h2>**Comet 12P\/Pons\u2013Brooks starts its track in March just north of the Great Square of Pegasus<\/a>, technically within the constellation Andromeda.<\/p>
As the sky gets properly dark from the centre of the UK, it\u2019ll be approximately 24\u00b0 above the west-northwestern horizon.\u00a0<\/p>
The comet then heads southeast, brightening as it goes.<\/p>
$\"Image$
Image of Comet 12P Pons-Brooks captured by Jos\u00e9 J. Chambo, 3 February 2024 at 18:57 UT from Vall\u00e9s, Valencia, Spain. Equipment: Camera: Atik 383L , Telescope: TS-Photon 8″ N f\/3.6, Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro, Exposure: 36 min. (L=33×60 bin1 RGB=1×60 bin2), Processing: PixInsight<\/figcaption><\/figure>
On 12 March<\/strong>, Comet 12P\/Pons\u2013Brooks is just shy of 2\u00b0 north of mag. 3.2 Delta (\u03b4) Andromedae, zipping past this star over the following evenings before exiting Andromeda and entering Pisces<\/a> just before midnight on **14 March<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>**
**It will then pass through the ill-defined northern fish of Pisces, tracking southeast to arrive at a position close to mag. 2.0 Hamal (Alpha (\u03b1) Arietis).<\/p>**
On the evening of **31 March<\/strong>, comet 12P\/Pons\u2013Brooks lies less than half a degree from this star.<\/p>**
**The expanding evening twilight will cause issues at the end of the month, Hamal being just 10\u00b0 above the west-northwestern horizon as true darkness falls.<\/p>**
**$\"Chart$**
Chart showing the location of Comet 12P\/Pons-Brooks in March 2024. Click on the chart to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Moon and planets<\/strong><\/h2>
The Moon moves through the region mid-month, but as a thin waxing crescent it shouldn\u2019t become an issue until 18 March<\/strong>, moving out of the way again around **26 March<\/strong>.<\/p>**
**Comet 12P\/Pons\u2013Brooks will have bright Jupiter and less bright Uranus nearby, especially towards the end of the month.<\/p>**
**With the Andromeda Galaxy on the table too, there’s an opportunity for capturing a stunning astrophoto of the scene.<\/p>**
**You can find out more about how to do this in our guide on** **how to photograph a comet<\/a>.<\/p>**
***Have you managed to observe or even photograph Comet 12P\/ Pons\u2013Brooks? Let us know by emailing <\/em><\/strong>******contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n***
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Comet 12P\/Pons\u2013Brooks could approach naked-eye in March, as it tracks from Andromeda to Pisces. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":55392,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/03\/comet-12p-pons-brooks-key-dates-for-observing-in-march.jpg",1070,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/03\/comet-12p-pons-brooks-key-dates-for-observing-in-march-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/03\/comet-12p-pons-brooks-key-dates-for-observing-in-march-297x300.jpg",297,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/03\/comet-12p-pons-brooks-key-dates-for-observing-in-march-768x775.jpg",768,775,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/03\/comet-12p-pons-brooks-key-dates-for-observing-in-march-1015x1024.jpg",800,807,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/03\/comet-12p-pons-brooks-key-dates-for-observing-in-march.jpg",1070,1080,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/77\/2024\/03\/comet-12p-pons-brooks-key-dates-for-observing-in-march.jpg",1070,1080,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Comet 12P\/Pons\u2013Brooks could approach naked-eye in March, as it tracks from Andromeda to Pisces.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/55391"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Chart showing the location of Comet 12P\/ Pons\u2013Brooks in March 2024. Click on the chart to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
**Comet 12P\/Pons\u2013Brooks key dates<\/strong><\/h2>**Comet 12P\/Pons\u2013Brooks starts its track in March just north of the Great Square of Pegasus<\/a>, technically within the constellation Andromeda.<\/p>
As the sky gets properly dark from the centre of the UK, it\u2019ll be approximately 24\u00b0 above the west-northwestern horizon.\u00a0<\/p>
The comet then heads southeast, brightening as it goes.<\/p>
$\"Image$
Image of Comet 12P Pons-Brooks captured by Jos\u00e9 J. Chambo, 3 February 2024 at 18:57 UT from Vall\u00e9s, Valencia, Spain. Equipment: Camera: Atik 383L , Telescope: TS-Photon 8″ N f\/3.6, Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro, Exposure: 36 min. (L=33×60 bin1 RGB=1×60 bin2), Processing: PixInsight<\/figcaption><\/figure>
On 12 March<\/strong>, Comet 12P\/Pons\u2013Brooks is just shy of 2\u00b0 north of mag. 3.2 Delta (\u03b4) Andromedae, zipping past this star over the following evenings before exiting Andromeda and entering Pisces<\/a> just before midnight on **14 March<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>**
**It will then pass through the ill-defined northern fish of Pisces, tracking southeast to arrive at a position close to mag. 2.0 Hamal (Alpha (\u03b1) Arietis).<\/p>**
On the evening of **31 March<\/strong>, comet 12P\/Pons\u2013Brooks lies less than half a degree from this star.<\/p>**
**The expanding evening twilight will cause issues at the end of the month, Hamal being just 10\u00b0 above the west-northwestern horizon as true darkness falls.<\/p>**
**$\"Chart$**
Chart showing the location of Comet 12P\/Pons-Brooks in March 2024. Click on the chart to expand. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Moon and planets<\/strong><\/h2>
The Moon moves through the region mid-month, but as a thin waxing crescent it shouldn\u2019t become an issue until 18 March<\/strong>, moving out of the way again around **26 March<\/strong>.<\/p>**
**Comet 12P\/Pons\u2013Brooks will have bright Jupiter and less bright Uranus nearby, especially towards the end of the month.<\/p>**
**With the Andromeda Galaxy on the table too, there’s an opportunity for capturing a stunning astrophoto of the scene.<\/p>**
**You can find out more about how to do this in our guide on** **how to photograph a comet<\/a>.<\/p>**
***Have you managed to observe or even photograph Comet 12P\/ Pons\u2013Brooks? Let us know by emailing <\/em><\/strong>******contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n***
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