Artistic vision of Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein. Credit: NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / J. da Silva (Spaceengine).
A comet that is officially known as C / 2014 UN271 Bernardinelli-Bernstein, is now returning to the Sun after a very long time. Although it has the year 2014, when it was technically captured in the data of the Dark Energy Survey project, it was in fact only recently discovered. Astronomers Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein observed it in June this year (2021).
Pedro Bernardinelli. Credit: Dark Energy Survey.
Some time ago showed that Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein is so bright due to its distance that it must be really gigantic. Original estimates were around 100 kilometers in diameter, but the actual size of the building remained unclear. The fact is that it was discovered at a distance of about 29 AU, which roughly corresponds to the orbit of Neptune. At the same time, this distance is a record. We have never discovered a more distant comet. Their new observations refine estimates of its size. The clarity of Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein shows that its core has a diameter of about 150 kilometers. So it’s even bigger than we thought. It is by far the largest comet we have had the honor of so far. Even a proper asteroid would not be ashamed of such a size.
Part of the orbit of Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein. Credit: JPL Solar System Dynamics.
Most known comets has a core size of a few kilometers, a maximum of a few tens of kilometers. The famous comet Hale-Bopp, one of the largest, has a diameter of about 80 kilometers. Experts considered the comet from 1729, also known as C / 1729 P1 or comet Sarabat, to be the largest known comet to date. Its diameter is estimated at about 100 kilometers.
The megacometer’s discovery team also calculated its orbit in more detail. Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein’s journey around the Sun is really very long. At its farthest point was a comet about 1.5 million years ago, and this point is about 40,400 AU from the Sun. It last approached the Sun about 3.5 million years ago and then reached a distance of about 18 AU from our star.
Now Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein is facing the closest approach to the Sun. in 2031. And it will be the closest meeting so far. It should approach about 10.9 AU, roughly equivalent to Saturn’s orbit. The comet is still very weak to observe. But astronomers are already examining its coma and tail. The first results show that carbon dioxide or ammonia evaporates from the megacometer. The California-based Las Cumbres Observatory network team detected a brief striking brightening of the comet, which corresponds to a gas jet, on September 9.
What will happen to Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein is difficult to predict. as is customary with comets, unfortunately. According to earlier estimates, it should have been as bright as Pluto. Now the estimates of the greatest brightness have increased significantly and are roughly at the level of the brightness of Saturn’s moon Titan. But whatever the outcome, we can bet that Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein will be a grateful object of observation for many experts and amateurs alike
Video: Giant Comet Bernardinelli Bernstein is Outgassing | August 2021
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