The largest comet ever observed by human beings, “2014 UN271”, has been confirmed to be heading towards the solar system. The comet will be closest to the earth in 2031, 11 “astronomical units” (AU, the average distance from the sun to the earth, 1AU is approximately equal to 149.5 AU) from the sun. million kilometers). Studying such primitive celestial bodies can help scientists understand the formation process of the solar system.
“2014 UN271” is customary and named after its discoverer as comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein. It was first discovered in 2014 at a distance of about 29 AU from the sun. It was determined that it originated in the Oort cloud (theoretically a spherical cloud of mostly icy planetesimals surrounding the sun), but its significance was not realized until it came to 24 AU from the sun. Liberty Times 0215