Earlier this year, astronomers, Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein from the University of Pennsylvania discovered the comet C/2014 UN271, nicknamed Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein. It is possible the largest comet currently hurtling towards the solar system. The comet is so huge that the astronomers initially believed it to be a dwarf planet.
Observed just past the orbit of Neptune, at 29 astronomical units, it also sets a record for being the most distant comet to have ever been observed, mostly thanks to its brightness. At first glance, astronomers estimated it to be around 100 kilometres in length but on further observations, they found the comet to be longer than that.
Gary Bernstein stated after the discovery, “We have the privilege of having discovered perhaps the largest comet ever seen – or at least larger than any well-studied one – and caught early enough for people to watch it evolve as it approaches and warms up.” Despite its size, there is no reason to worry as it is not expected to get any closer to the Sun, just outside Saturn’s orbit by 2031.
