‘Devil comet bigger than Mount Everest’ is travelling towards Earth

A huge comet that is bigger than Mount Everest is making its way towards Earth.

Due to the rock's horn-like appearance which protrudes outwards, the comet has been aptly dubbed the "devil comet," and is thought to be made up of gas and dust, according to scientists.

The comet's proper name is 12P/Pons-Brooks, and the distinctive horns have since disappeared and turned a rare green colour with a mysterious "shadow",Live Sciencereported.

This is due to the 10.5-mile-wide comet being cryovolcanic which means it is a cold volcano and pressure building up in its nucleus has caused the shell to erupt.

Given how it is larger than the highest mountain in the world, it would be pretty concerning if it were heading directly towards Earth.

But fear not as we don't have to prepare for catastrophe just yet since the comet is one-and-a-half times the distance of Earth to the sun away from our planet.

NASA has also reassured us there is no need to be concerned about the 'devil comet' colliding with Earth.

“NASA knows of no asteroid or comet currently on a collision course with Earth, so the probability of a major collision is quite small," the space agency said.

“In fact, as best as we can tell, no large object is likely to strike the Earth any time in the next several hundred years.”

The comet orbits around the sun every 71.2 years, and later this year will make its closest approach to Earth on June 2 where it could be visible to the naked eye, astronomers say.

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