Very difficult image, as this comet was very close to  the hazy and light polluted horizon. Would have loved to get a better picture of this beautiful comet, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance and so this one will have to do it.

12P/Pons–Brooks is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 71 years. Comets with an orbital period of 20–200 years are referred to as Halley-type comets. It is one of the brightest known periodic comets, reaching an absolute visual magnitude of about 5 in its approach to perihelion. Comet Pons-Brooks was definitely discovered at Marseilles Observatory in July 1812 by Jean-Louis Pons, and on its next appearance in 1883 by William Robert Brooks. There are ancient records of comets that are suspected of having been apparitions of 12P/Pons–Brooks.The next perihelion passage is 21 April 2024, with closest approach to Earth being 1.55 AU (232 million km) on 2 June 2024. The comet is expected to brighten to about apparent magnitude 4.5.The comet nucleus is estimated to be around 30 km in diameter, assuming it was not producing too much dust and gas during the 2020 photometric measurements.12P/Pons–Brooks is hypothesized to be the parent body of the weak December Draconids meteor shower that is active from about 29 November to 13 December.

Observational history:

Before 1812:
Comet 12P/Pons–Brooks has been identified as a comet observed in 1385 and in 1457. The 1385 apparition was very favourable and the comet was recorded by the Chinese in Ming Shilu and was also mentioned in some European sources. A comet observed by Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli in January 1457 and mentioned in Chinese sources is also identified as comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. In both apparitions the comet had magnitude 3 or brighter, not accounting for possible outbursts. It is possible that it was also a comet recorded in Chinese sources in September 245 CE.So-Yeon Park & Jong-Chul Chae (2007) suggested that comet 12P/Pons–Brooks was also the comets recorded in Asian sources in 1313 and 1668. However, Meyer et al. argue that in the 1313 apparition, the comet would have been difficult to observe, being dim and close to the Sun, while the suggested position in Gemini contradicts the calculated location of comet Pons-Brooks in Aries. The March 1668 comet described by Koreans is probably the bright sungrazing comet observed by Europeans, whose orbit is no way compatible with that of comet 12P/Pons–Brooks.

1812:
Comet 12P/Pons–Brooks was discovered on 12 July 1812, by Jean-Louis Pons. Independently, this comet was later found by Vincent Wisniewski on 1 August, and Alexis Bouvard on 2 August the same year. The comet was spotted with the naked eye on 13 August and by the end of the month a tail measuring 2 degrees in length was reported. Shortly after its initial discovery it was found to have an orbital period of about 70 years with an error of about 5 years. Johann Franz Encke determined a definitive orbit with a period of 70.68 years. This orbit was used to generate an ephemeris for the 1883–1884 return.

1884:
On 2 September 1883 a (faint) comet was accidentally discovered by William Robert Brooks and later identified with the comet of 1812. An outburst was observed on 21–23 September 1883, as the comet brightened from magnitude 10–11 to 8–8.5, and its appearance changed from diffuse to star-like. The comet became visible with naked eye in 20 November and brightened up to magnitude 3. The comet was reported to experience outbursts on 1 January and 19 January. This year it traveled from Scheat and Markab in western Pegasus, 13 January 1884; southward (through Pisces) to reach perihelion below Iota and Beta Ceti (~RA 0h, dec. -10°) around 24 January. It was last seen in June 1884.


Sketches of comet 12P/Pons–Brooks from 21–22 January 1884

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)



Position at date of imaging, image from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory