This week there has been a new round of headlines that basically boil down to “NASA DISCOVERS GIANT COMET HEADED TOWARD EARTH.”

I feel the need to break this story down, make sure everyone knows we’re safe, and give you the info you need to join us in laughing at some of the more sensationalistic stories hitting the internet.

Here is what is true. There is a big ol’ hunk of mostly ice, some rock, and bits of organic material that are entering the main part of the solar system. This comet, C/2014 UN 271 Bernardinelli-Bernstein, or Bern-Bern, is about 80-85 miles across, which, for a comet, is huge — record-breakingly huge. It is also darker than coal, so think dirty snow from a polluted city.

Since we live in the main part of the solar system, and the comet is headed toward the main part of the solar system, it is fair to say it is headed toward us… in the same way that when someone from Asia visits greater St. Louis I can say they visited me. Did I see them? Nope. Was there really any chance I’d see them without getting in a car to take a drive? Nope. They just were a whole lot closer than normal.

This comet — it’s only getting about as close as Saturn. Saturn will still be closer though. So the only way we’re going to visit this comet is if we hop in a rocket and fly to it.

So, bottom line, the comet is big. No argument. Giant awesome comet. It is going to be close enough to the Sun – while out at Saturn – that it should get active. You should be excited, just not as excited as some headlines would lead you to think you should be.

As we get more data we’ll keep you updated.

More Information

Hubblesite press release

UCLA press release

“Hubble Space Telescope Detection of the Nucleus of Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli–Bernstein),” Man-To Hui (許文韜), David Jewitt, Liang-Liang Yu (余亮亮), and Max J. Mutchler, 2022 April 12, The Astrophysical Journal Letters