The biggest comet ever seen in the solar system is traveling towards Earth | world and science

One of the largest comets ever seen comes from the edge of the solar system toward Earth and is expected to keep getting closer over the next ten years. This phenomenon, named Bernardinelli-Bernstein in honor of the scientists who discovered it, including the Brazilian, has a diameter of 150 kilometers and is about 31 times larger than other comets that have already been observed.

Bernardinelli-Bernstein was first discovered in 2014, but only seven years later scientists were able to identify it. At first, astronomers misunderstood it as a dwarf planet, and when it gets close to Earth, experts will be able to take a closer look.

One said: “We are fortunate to have discovered perhaps the largest comet we have ever seen – or at least the largest of any well-studied comet – and we discovered it early enough for people to see that it evolves as it gets closer and warmer than before.” The astronomers who discovered the comet, Gary Bernstein. “The solar system has not been visited for more than 3 million years.”

According to NASA, comets are usually about three to five kilometers wide, while Bernardinelli-Bernstein is about 150 kilometers wide.

Despite its size, this huge snowball-like phenomenon made up of ice, dust and some rocky material, is still very far from Earth, which means there is no reason to panic.