Comet shaped like Star Wars' Millennium Falcon will pass by Earth

Do you think the comet looks like the Millennium Falcon?

If you're a Star Wars fan then maybe you've imagined looking up at the night sky and seeing Han Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon, flying past.

Well, this dream could become a step closer to reality, after astronomers have spotted a comet shaped like the famous spacecraft.

They have said sky gazers may even be able to see the "once-in-a-lifetime" sight for themselves next year - without a telescope!

Earlier this month the comet - known as Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks - became 100 times brighter with plumes of debris and ice blasting off it into space.

This gave it a horseshoe shape, which scientists likened to the Millennium Falcon spaceship from the Star Wars film series.

Comets like Pons-Brooks follow long, looping orbits around the Sun, spending much of their time in the outer solar system.

At those distances, cold temperatures keep any substances on the surface, such as water and carbon dioxide, frozen as ice.

But as a comet approaches the Sun and temperatures rise, it causes the ice to sublimate - turn directly from a solid to a gas - and jet away, creating the object's trademark tail.

When will I be able to see the Millennium Falcon comet?

The comet will make its closest approach to the sun next year, passing about 144 million miles from Earth on 2 June 2024.

This is just weeks after there is due to be a total solar eclipse on 8 April 2024, although this will be mainly visible in North America.

But two such events happening so close is very rare, with Richard Miles of the British Astronomical Association saying it's "once-in-a-blue-moon that you see a comet next to an eclipsed sun".

While it may be possible to see the comet with just your eyes, Miles has advised people to use binoculars.

He said: "It should be visible, it's guaranteed to get a lot brighter, just in the normal way all comets get a lot brighter. What it could also do is have an outburst during the eclipse."

Astronomers aren't sure exactly why the comet has brightened so much in recent weeks, but one explanation could be an active ice volcano on the surface that is causing it to light up the sky.

This idea is something Miles has said scientists would have never expected to see happen.

"It's something of a revolutionary idea that you have liquid inside a comet and scientists have for decades never really come to terms with it," he said.

This is what the comet looked like when having it's bright outburst, as captured on a telescope

"When you see this comet do what it's doing, you can't really explain it without saying: As well as solids and gases, there are liquids inside the comet making it behave in this very unusual way," he added.

But the idea that there is liquids inside comets, could also help support a theory shared previously - that comets not only brought water to Earth but also helped spread the germs of life on our planet.

Dr Edward Gomez of the Las Cumbres Observatory in Cardiff, who have been involved in capturing images of the comet, said studying this phenomenon more "gives us a great snapshot of what conditions were like when the planets formed and how the planets formed".

While most people will have to wait until next year to see the comet, amateur astronomers could have the chance to see it much sooner.

People in the Northern Hemisphere, which includes the UK, could catch Pons-Brooks this week while it's still bright enough to see with a six-inch telescope.

The comet is currently in the Draco constellation in the north, meaning it's visible all night long from many locations above the equator.

As soon as the sky grows dark after sunset, look north to locate Polaris, the North Star, at the tip of the Little Dipper's handle.

It will remain in roughly the same spot for the next week, but the sooner you look, the better.

The Moon is quickly waxing toward full and will make the background sky brighter along the way, making the comet harder to see.

But if you miss seeing it now don't worry - experts say this is just the preview, and that the comet has much more in store for us next spring.