Science, Space, Health & Robotics Comet 11 miles wide enters inner solar system, will approach Earth An astrophotographer has captured Comet C/2017 K2 entering our inner solar system, with its orbit bringing it close to Earth soon. Jak Connor @JakConnorTT
PUBLISHED WED, JUN 29 2022 12:02 AM CDT | UPDATED WED, JUN 29 2022 1:29 AM CDT
Astronomers identified Comet C/2017 K2 back in 2017, and now the extremely old comet is making its way into our inner solar system.
Researchers believe that Comet C/2017, or Comet K2, originally came from the Oort Cloud, and when it was originally found, it was approximately 1.5 billion miles away from the Sun between Saturn and Uranus. When Comet K2 was first discovered, astronomers believed it was 99 miles wide, but follow-up observations from the Hubble Space Telescope brought that number down to the agreed 11-mile-wide diameter.
It should be noted that while the diameter estimate was originally incorrect, the size of Comet K2 is still very large - being as wide as two Mount Everest's stacked on top of each other. Spaceweather.com writes that most comet nuclei are approximately 0.62 - 1.86 miles in diameter. Comet K2 harbors its own mysteries as most of the larger comets do, with researchers being perplexed at how the comet remains "active", which is a term researchers use to label comets that are producing a glow and the iconic tail.
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