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New Zealand astronomers have detected the first activity on giant C / 2014 UN271, possibly the largest comet discovered in recorded history.
Experts saw signs of the spread of gas and dust on June 22, the first time they had seen an active comet since it was first observed by the Dark Energy Survey.
Image C / 2014 shows UN271 at a distance of approximately 19 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun.
Due to the size of the comet’s nucleus, which is said to be the largest since the discovery of comet Hale-Bopp in 1995, it has a significant mass to heat.
The object was first announced on June 19, 2021, but was initially found after experts restated Dark Energy Survey data between 2014 and 2018.
The giant object, 62 to 230 miles wide and the size of a small dwarf planet, can be nearly 1,000 times the size of an ordinary comet.
It is also possibly the largest comet found in recorded history, although some have suggested that Comet Sarabat, which is over 513,000 miles in diameter, is larger.
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The image was taken by Las Cumbres Telescopes (LCO) hosted by the Astronomical Observatory in South Africa and was available on June 23 at midnight EST.
The activity was discovered in large part because astronomers were in the right time zone at the right time.
Dr Michelle Bannister, of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, said in a statement: “The first image obscured the comet by the satellite line. But then there was, for sure, a nice little drop of haze, not at all as clear as the stars next to it! “
However, say astronomers, “it will always be a telescopic object because its closest distance from the sun will always be after Saturn.”
And in 2031, scientists expect C / 2014 UN271 to be the same distance from the Sun as Saturn, which will come closer to Earth for the first time in about 600,000 years.
Data shows the object has traveled seven AU in the past year alone, placing it within 10.9 AU of the sun by 2031.
The statement added that LCO has created a provisional schedule for the viewing of C / 2014 UN271, giving its global telescope network a “rapid response” to a new comet event “within 15 minutes of the alert.”
LCO scientist Tim Lister said there are other global projects besides the LCO Outbursting Objects Key (LOOK) project which is closely monitoring C / 2014 UN271.
These readings can provide alerts if a comet suddenly changes in brightness, so we can use the robotic telescopes at the LCO to provide us with more detailed data and a longer overview of the comet’s evolution as it goes. survey moves to other regions of the sky.
Source: Daily Mail
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