The Largest Comet Whose Size is Refined by the ALMA Telescope Will Make Its Closest Approach to Earth in 2031

A mega comet, which is coming from the Oort cloud, that is around 85 miles or 137 kilometers in diameter will likely approach Earth in 2031.

In addition to this, its size was refined by scientists with the help of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Telescope in Chile.

The Largest Comet Will Approach Earth in 2031

A massive comet is likely to have its closest approach to Earth in 2031.

Coming from the Oort Cloud, the huge comet named C/2014 UN271, which is also known as comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein, has a size of 85 miles or 137 kilometer in diameter.

Gizmodo reported that the Oort Cloud is a far region of our solar system, which is known to have several icy objects. The Oort Cloud is also believed to be the source of comets that we usually see in the skies, per NASA.

The latest observations, which was stated through Gizmodo, for this comet showed that this is the largest Oort Cloud object ever detected. In addition to this, it was also reported to be nearly twice as massive as the comet Hale-Bopp, which was observed last 1997.

When comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein has reached its closest approach in 2031, this comet is expected to pass within 11 astronomical unit (au) or 1 billion miles of the Sun.

AU is used to identify the distance between the Earth and the sun. In addition, one au is 93 million miles long or 150 million kilometers. It takes around eight light-minutes to reach the other side, per Earthsky.

Unfortunately, this comet, which will pass within a few million miles of Saturn, will not be visible to the naked eye. Astronomers, however, will be keeping a careful eye on it since it is shaping out to be rather remarkable.

For those wondering how astronomers evaluate the comet's size and reflectivity, or albedo, the research team led by astronomer Emmanuel Lellouch of the Paris Observatory and its colleagues used the ALMA telescope in Chile.

What is ALMA Telescope?

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) noted that the ALMA telescope studies light from several of the universe's cooler landmarks.

It is operated by ESO in collaboration with other international associates. Millimetre and submillimetre radiation refers to light with wavelengths of roughly a millimetre, which lies between the infrared light and radio waves.

ALMA is made up of 66 high-precision antennas that are spaced out across a 16-kilometer span. This program is the world's largest ground-based astronomical cooperation to date.

To further emphasize its previous discoveries, it has been explained that astronomers produced more than 2,500 articles based on its observations, spanning a wide spectrum of cosmic objects.

The ALMA observatory has assisted astronomers in making revolutionary science, adjusting the limits of our comprehension in discovery of our Cosmic Origins, from the distant developing galaxies to the Solar System's moons.

Some of its discoveries are galaxy formation, star formation, death of stars, changes in planets, remarkable events in solar system, and black holes.