The largest comet ever observed by humans is arriving. It’s really gigantic
New measurements confirm the astonishing dimensions of the comet, which is approaching us from the periphery of the solar system. It is fifty times larger than most known “hairs”.
It’s a real colossus. It is called C / 2014 UN271 Bernardinelli-Bernstein after its discoverers – astronomers Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein, who identified it last June.
Pilgrim with an icy heart
Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein flies to the center of the solar system and approaches the Sun and Earth. If this iceberg hit Earth, it would wipe out our civilization. However, we do not have to worry about it, it will pass it at a respectful distance.
A picture of the comet from the Hubble Telescope (left), a photo with a modeled tail (middle) and a picture of the isolated “hairy core” on the right). | source:
Profimedia
However, the size of the comet stunned astronomers. It is fifty times larger than most known hairs.
The astrologers used the Hubble Space Telescope to analyze it in detail. Their study of the object confirmed that fixed center of the comet (without coma – a long tail of ice sublimating to gases in the comet’s furrow) measures almost 140 kilometers. His mass is gigantic – astronomers estimate it at 500 billion tons.
Comet (obsolete vlasatice), is a body orbiting mostly in an eccentric elliptical orbit around the Sun. Comets are known for their striking tails. They have ice heart, are often described as dirty snowballs. They are largely made up of frozen carbon dioxide, methane and ice mixed with dust and minerals.
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“We confirm that C / 2014 UN271 Bernardinelli-Bernstein is the largest long-period comet ever detected,” the researchers wrote in a comprehensive study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
“Yes, we knew it would be big because it is clear at such a great distance. Now we confirm that it is big. It is really big and blacker than coal, “the journal quotes Science Alert Professor of Planetary Sciences David Jewitt of the University of California, Los Angeles, lead author of the study.
Bernardinelli-Bernstein it leaves behind the largest comet close to us to date, Sarbat, which is almost a hundred kilometers away, and flew through the solar system in 1729.
Almost twice surpasses the iconic comet Hale-Bopp, which has a diameter of 74 kilometers and in 1997 showed us a breathtaking show. At that time, its double tail, one blue gas and the other yellowish dust, was observed from Earth.
Comparison of comets. | source: credit-David Jewitt / UCLA
Click to enlarge the image.
Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein, which flies at 35,000 kilometers per hour, was first captured by telescopes in 2014. At that time, it was as far away from the Sun as Neptune, or 4.5 billion kilometers. That’s thirty times the Earth’s distance from the Sun.
The object first escaped attention. Astronomers mistakenly thought of it as an asteroid. It wasn’t until Bernardinelli and Bernstein, who work for the Dark Energy Survey project, learned about the comet.
He waves to us in 2031
Bernardinelli and Bernstein calculated its trajectory last year. It was at its farthest point 1.5 million years ago. At that time, it was located at a distance of 40,400 AU from our star (astronomical units, 1AU is the mean distance of the Earth from the Sun = 149,597,870.7 kilometers). It last approached the Sun 3.5 million years ago, before the beginning of our civilization. It was then separated from our star by 18 AU, ie 2.7 billion kilometers.
Now this colossus is located between the orbits of Uranus and Neptune. It will be closest to the Sun and Earth at the end of January 2031when it arrives in Saturn’s orbit. The planet is an average of 1.42 billion kilometers from the Sun, while the Earth’s distance from the Sun is between 147 and 152 million kilometers. (Of course, you won’t see the comet with the naked eye.)
Then the comet flies back to the dark periphery of the solar system, where it was born. There in an area called the Oort cloud was created by combining the remnants of matter after condensation of the solar nebula. However, as they approach the sun, they lose ice. Astronomers estimate that it will be only half the current size on the way back.
“This comet is just the tip of an iceberg made up of many thousands of comets that are too faint to be seen in more distant parts of the solar system,” he told the journal. Science Alert astronomer David Jewitt.
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Resources:
Science Alert, The Astrophysical Journal Letters
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