Researchers from New Zealand recently detected activity around C/2014 UN271. At first, it was suspected that it was some kind of asteroid, but the latest data shows that it is a huge comet heading towards the center of the solar system. The researchers were able to record an envelope of gas forming around the body’s core – visible thanks to the influence of the Sun. The closer a comet is to the sun, the more active it is.
Astronomers think it likely is He’s the biggest culprit ever – That the diameter of its core is more than 100 km, that is, ten times more than in the case of ordinary comets, and its mass must reach 1,000 times greater than usual. At the moment, the comet is very far from the Sun – about 19 AU, or 19 times farther from Earth. According to the researchers, during the comet’s perihelion (the point closest to the Sun) it will be at the level of the orbit of Saturn, after which it will begin to move away from the center of our system. However, perihelion will only be in 2031 – astronomers will have to wait for a better time to observe this unusual phenomenon.
When it comes to space research, the Curiosity rover that has been on Mars for nearly 10 years has made an interesting discovery. It’s jokingly known as a “space burp”. In turn, the Juno probe recorded both Ganymede and Jupiter – NASA released a beautiful video of this event, shown from the perspective of the “starship captain”.
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