TRIBUNNEWS.COM — A giant comet detected by the Hubble Space Telescope.
This comet is said to have the largest cometary nucleus ever observed.
In the observations of the United States National Space Agency (NASA through the telescope, the comet is seen flying towards Sun.
In a study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters in 2022, astronomers confirmed the existence of the comet, called C/2014 UN271 or Bernardinelli-Bernstein.
Read also: Get to know the Solar System: Sun, Inner Planets, Outer Planets, Comets, Meteoroids, and Asteroids
As reported by Science Alert, Wednesday (13/4/2022) the size of the comet is claimed to be 50 times larger than the average comet.
As for the width of almost 140 kilometers, which makes it known as a giant comet.
“This comet is truly the tip of the iceberg for the thousands of comets that are too faint to be seen in this part of the world.” Solar system farther away,” said University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) astronomer David Jewitt.
“We always thought this comet must be big, because it is very bright at such a great distance. Now we confirm (the allegation),” he continued.
Read also: NASA: Asteroids Bigger Than Two Statues of Liberty Are Approaching Earth
According to a study led by Man-To Hui of the Macau University of Science and Technology, comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein comes from the oort cloud.
This cloud is a spherical material of icy objects in the vicinity Sun. Comet it is also dubbed the “dirty snowball” because it is composed of rock material, as well as other debris.
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