Robert sent in the link https://www.livescience.com/space/comets/city-size-comet-headed-toward-earth-grows-horns-after-massive-volcanic-eruption …. with the comment, a really poor description of what comets actually are and how they interact with their environment but let us see what further changes might affect the comet.
A comet, the size of a city, heading into the inner solar system, has suddenly grown horns – after a massive volcanic eruption. The latter is of course guesswork. What has been seen is an outburst – a rapid increase in energy. They describe it as an explosion. Such an explosion would destroy the comet, one might imagine, but this is group think and volcanic comets are treated seriously. In the electric universe scenario the flare-up is electrical – the Sun, via the solar wind, sparking a reaction in the comet. Presumably, this is what Robert has in mind. However, we are told the unusual volcanic comet is on its way for a trip around the Sun, and back out into the far reaches of the Solar system. As a result of the flare up the comet appears to have grown a pair of horns – in the aftermath of the brightening. It became as bright as a small star – yet is still a long way out. It is even said to have spewed supercold magma into space. Yes, you read that right – supercold magma [which is otherwise extremely hot]. Can magma be cold – yet alone super cold. A novel idea it would seem.
The comet, christened Comet Pons-Brooks, or 12P, is cryovolcanic – a cold volcano hurtling through space. Luckily, this is just a theory. Like other comets, it has a solid nucleus [presumably where the magma is hiding] yet is otherwise a mix of ice, dust, and gases, On July 20th an assortment of astronomers recorded a major outburst – which suddenly brightened a hundred fold. See the report at https://spaceweather.com [on July 21st]. The comet’s coma swelled up with gas and ice crystals released from its interior. By July 26th the coma had grown to 143,000 miles in length, or roughly so, some 7,000 times greater than its nucleus, in size. The diameter of the comet nucleus, it is said, is 18.6 miles across – so quite a big lump. An irregularity in the shape of the nucleus may have caused the coma to split into two – therefore the horns. However, in mythology and human description some of the gods of yore sported horns. The Bull of Heaven for example, known as Enlil in Babylonia and by various names in ancient Egypt, such as the cow goddess Hathor. Horned gods in southern Africa are associated with local animals – and in Europe stag gods were common, and boars. In India, there are some implicit stories of white worms seen in the distance that become bigger and bigger as they approach the earth, and they too were horned.
Comet 12P will round the Sun in June of 2024. It will then be visible with naked eye – the first one since Hale-Bopp.