Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks suddenly increased in brightness 100 times and turned into the Millennium Falcon from Star War

A Hungarian astronomer has seen comet 12P/Pons-Brooks increase its brightness several times. This made it resemble the Millennium Falcon spaceship from Star Wars. Some time later, the discovery was confirmed by scientists from the UK.

Here's What We Know

Once every few decades, everyone can see with their own eyes the comet 12P/Pons-Brooks, which was discovered on 12 July 1812. It approaches the Sun about every 70 years.

Sometimes the comet can be seen with the naked eye. You can try your luck on 2 June next year. To see the comet for sure, you should arm yourself with binoculars. 12P/Pons-Brooks will pass at a distance of just over 200 million kilometres from Earth.

As for the recent 100-fold increase in brightness, it is thought to be due to an ejection of matter. In particular, there is a suggestion that comet 12P/Pons-Brooks ejected water in a liquid state. This is the opinion of British scientist Richard Miles. At the same time, Carrie Holt suggests that the comet ejected 10 billion kg of dust and ice.

Source: Science Alert