Astronomers believe they have discovered the largest comet in history. The massive comet is named Bernardinelli amber after its discoverers. It’s so massive that astronomers mistook it for a dwarf planet when it was first discovered.
The massive comet is on an inward trajectory from the outer solar system. While a gigantic comet approaching Earth from the outer solar system could be terrifying, astronomers understand that it poses no threat to Earth right now. It will get no closer to the Sun than just outside of Saturn’s orbit.
This is a huge distance from us, but very close on a cosmic scale and offers researchers the opportunity to study an untouched comet from the Oort cloud. Studying pristine objects like this one helps scientists learn more about how our solar system was formed. Astronomers believe the comet has not visited the inner solar system in more than 3 million years.
Researchers studying Bernardinelli amber are excited and call it a « new » comet. There is no evidence that it has moved closer than 18 AU since it was hurled into the Oort Cloud. Astronomers believe it is the most pristine comet ever observed.
Researchers have found that the comet began its inward journey towards Earth from a distance of 40,400 AU from the Sun, placing it directly in the area of the Oort Cloud. Objects in this region vary from approximately 2000 to 100,000 AU away. It was discovered at a distance of about 29 astronomical units from the sun. It’s 96 miles in diameter, but despite its enormous size, it’s still far too far to see with the naked eye. It is being studied with telescopes and astronomers have discovered signs of a coma.
Keywords:
