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Sunday, April 17, 2022 – 13:07 WIB
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One comet with a core 50 times larger than the usual comets that we encounter, hurtling toward Earth at a speed of 35,400 kilometers per hour.
The Hubble Telescope belonging to the United States space agency NASA determined that the comet’s core consisting of ice has a mass of about 500 trillion tons and an area of 137 thousand kilometers – larger than the US State of Rhode Island, as well as the Province of Rhode Island. East Kalimantan in Indonesia.
But not to worry. Even though it’s pointing toward Earth, the comet’s closest approach to our planet is estimated to be a billion miles from the Sun, and that won’t happen until 2031.
The comet was first seen in 2010, but Hubble was only able to confirm its magnitude now.
And its size is larger than any other comet that astronomers have ever seen before.
“We had expected that this comet was very large, because its light is very bright even though it is still very far away,” said David Jewitt, professor of planetary science and astronomy at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
“Now we have that confirmation,” said Jewitt.
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