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Received — 31 May 2026 ⏭ Scientific American News

Stunning Comet Could Photobomb This April's Total Solar Eclipse

✇Scientific American News
By: Meghan Bartels
23 February 2024 at 22:45

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks will make its closest approach to the sun this April—right after North America is treated to a total solar eclipse

© Brandon Ghany/Horizon Productions SFL/Flickr ( PDM 1.0 Deed )

12P/Pons–Brooks is a Halley-type periodic comet with an orbital period of 71 years. It was discovered in 1812 and later recovered during passages in 1883 and 1954. It is expected to brighten to an apparent magnitude of 4.5 (visible to the naked eye) during its upcoming passage in April 2024.

Sculptures about to Land on the Moon Join a Long History of Lunar Art

✇Scientific American News
By: Meghan Bartels
21 February 2024 at 18:00

A lunar lander nicknamed Odie carries 125 small moon sculptures by artist Jeff Koons that could become the first authorized artwork on the moon

© NASA

Close-up of a memorial plaque on the Moon at Hadley-Apennine site, honoring 14 deceased NASA astronauts and USSR cosmonauts. Astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin installed it during Apollo 15's lunar surface activity. The figurine symbolizes fallen space explorers.
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