Bernardinelli-Bernstein, the solar system’s largest comet, is on its way to Earth. According to NASA, the largest comet in the solar system is on its way to hit Earth. The comet, known as C/2014 UN271 or Bernardinelli-Bernstein, was discovered in 2014.
Scientists fear that if the comet strays even slightly from its path, it could mean the end of Earth and all of humanity. Comet C/2014 UN271 was discovered in October 2014. The comet is currently moving through the Oort cloud at an incredibly high speed of 35,000 km/h towards the sun.
Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein takes about 3 million years to orbit the sun in a highly elliptical orbit.
— Science News (@ScienceNews) Apr 19, 2022
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According to NASA, three main factors determine how serious a consequence of a celestial body can be. The first factor is body size; the heavier the body, the greater the damage.
The speed of the object is the second factor. A slower moving object has less kinetic energy, which fades more gradually. A high-velocity object, on the other hand, will transfer much more energy at a much faster rate, resulting in greater damage.
The last parameter to consider is the composition. The comet’s structure also plays a major role in its eventual impact on Earth. In general, rocky bodies are more risky than icy bodies.
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The recently discovered Oort cloud comet, Bernardinelli-Bernstein, has the largest known nucleus: 119 km. Here’s what it could do to the Earth.
— Big Think (@bigthink) Apr 19, 2022
With all three factors recognized, comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein is worth exploding Earth effortlessly into tiny pieces, destroying all life. However, according to NASA’s current predictions, the comet will miss our planet by just 1 billion miles when it reaches its closest point in 2031.
COVER IMAGE: NASA