‘Devil comet’ could soon be visible to the naked eye. How to see it.

An occasionally explosive yet fickle comet with a devilish nickname is visible in the evening sky for the first time in 71 years. Currently, it can only be seen with a telescope or binoculars, but might soon be spotted with the naked eye, and there’s even a chance it could be seen during next month’s total solar eclipse.

Comet Pons-Brooks was last seen in 1954 before returning last summer. Like the famed Halley’s comet, Pons-Brooks is a “short-period” comet that periodically visits our part of the solar system. Short-period comets take less than 200 years to orbit the sun, while long-period comets can take thousands or millions of years. With an orbital period of 71 years, comet Pons-Brooks is visible from Earth only slightly more often than Halley’s comet, which appears every 76 years and was last seen in 1986.

Comets are described by NASA as “frozen leftovers from the formation of the solar system” whose core, or nucleus, consists of dust, rock and ice, and is typically the size of a small town. Some of that ice turns to gas when a comet passes near the sun, creating a gassy planet-sized cloud around the core called a coma. A tail of gas and dust can extend millions of miles behind the comet as it races through space.

Pons-Brooks is a “cryovolcanic” comet, which means it sometimes experiences volcano-like eruptions of gas and ice. Scientists have noted the comet’s history of sudden flare-ups in brightness, “probably caused by the ices feeling the warmth of the sun for the first time, turning to gas phase and escaping the nucleus, dragging other dust or ice with it,” Lori Feaga, a professor who studies comets at the University of Maryland, said in an email.

One such flare-up in July, when the comet suddenly became 100 times brighter, caused its coma to take the shape of a devil’s horns, leading it to be nicknamed the “devil comet.” Other outbursts occurred on Oct. 5, Nov. 1, Nov. 14, Dec. 14 and Jan. 18, according to Space.com.

For many astronomers and stargazers, this will be the only chance in their lifetime to see comet Pons-Brooks.

“It is interesting to study during this (visit) because we only get a chance every 70 years … and the technology and telescopes have greatly improved since its last appearance,” Feaga said. “On this (visit) we should be able to get a better handle on the comet’s chemical make-up.”

Comet Pons-Brooks was officially discovered in 1812 by French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons, and then again in 1883 by William Brooks, although there is evidence it was seen as far back as 1385.

How to see the comet

The comet is currently visible from the Northern Hemisphere at dusk near the western horizon. For now, binoculars or a telescope are required to see it.

By the end of March, it could be bright enough to see with the naked eye from some locations, and will continue to brighten until its closest pass to the sun on April 21. The best chance of viewing the comet with the naked eye will be away from city lights under clear skies.

“While the comet will become a little brighter, it will likely stay a binocular object” in many places, Elizabeth Warner, director of the University of Maryland Astronomy Observatory, said in an email. “From dark locations, it might be visible to the naked eye.”

The comet will remain visible from the Northern Hemisphere until early May as it starts to fade, then only from the Southern Hemisphere into June before disappearing until 2095.

Will it be visible during the eclipse?

There’s been some buzz that the comet could be visible during the April 8 total solar eclipse. If so, it would only be seen by those in the path of totality, the roughly 115-mile-wide strip from Texas to Maine where the sun will be completely blocked by the moon and skies will turn almost as dark as night, and probably only with binoculars.

“If the comet experiences an outburst that makes it slightly brighter, it might be visible” to the left of the sun near Jupiter, Warner said.

“Of course, the real show is the eclipse, so don’t miss enjoying that by spending the entirety of totality hunting for the comet,” Feaga added.