Astronomers discover a huge comet heading towards the sun

Posted:

June 23, 2021 01:34 GMT

According to the calculations, the object called 2014 UN271 will reach our closest approach in 2031 when it reaches the orbit of Saturn.

A huge stellar body, unknown until now, is approaching Earth from the far reaches of the solar system and astronomers Calculate what should be done closest approach When placed in orbit of Saturn in 2031.

Baptist 2014 UN271, a large celestial body discovered by the International Collaborative Dark Energy Survey (DES) project, is likely the largest celestial body ever discovered approaching the Sun.

The discovery, announced on June 19, was made possible by data provided by the Minor Planets Electronic Circulars (MPEC) program, from the NASA-funded research center. According to scientists spread on social media, the asteroid’s body, which is made up of rocks and ice, has Diameter Between 100 and 370 km.

According to data analyzed in recent years, between 2014 and 2018, the body went from 23 AU to 20 AU (one AU is the average distance between the Earth and the Sun). Pedro Bernardinelli, an astrophysicist at the University of Pennsylvania (USA), published a pixelated image of the object.

For his part, astronomer Sam Dean He suggested that as UN271 approaches the Sun, it will begin to show its distinctive tail of the comet and that it will be “impressively bright” at its closest approach.

The Megameter’s orbit has been updated several times, which is very rare, especially because of the far extremes that make it take nearly 6000 whole years. It is also believed that due to its size it will be one of the largest objects in the Oort cloud, which has led some scientists to compare it to a dwarf planet, Picks Chanel weather.

After passing within 10.1 AU of Saturn’s orbit, 2014 UN271 will begin its return to the Oort cloud, at the outer edges of our solar system.