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Comet C/2014 UN271 Nucleus Compass

Three panels with image of comet, a model, and a subtracted version just showing the nucleus of the fuzzy blue blob compass

About the Object

  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    At the time of observations, the comet was about 19 AU from Earth (2 billion miles).

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    HST observations include those from programs 16886 (M. Hui).

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    WFC3/UVIS
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    8 Jan 2022
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F350LP
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Comet C/2014 UN271 Nucleus
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Large Oort cloud comet
  • Release Date
    April 12, 2022
  • Science Release
    Hubble Confirms Largest Comet Nucleus Ever Seen
    Read the release
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, Man-To Hui (Macau University of Science and Technology), David Jewitt (UCLA); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

Downloads

  • Full Res, 1080 × 360
    tif (1.95 MB)
  • Full Res, 1080 × 360
    png (1.16 MB)
Three panels with image of comet, a model, and a subtracted version just showing the nucleus of the fuzzy blue blob compass
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

This image is an exposure acquired by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. The color results from assigning the color blue to a monochromatic (grayscale) image.

Related Images & Videos

Three panels with image of comet, a model, and a subtracted version just showing the nucleus of the fuzzy blue blob

Comet C/2014 UN271 Nucleus

This sequence shows how the nucleus of Comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) was isolated from a vast shell of dust and gas surrounding the solid icy nucleus. On the left is a photo of the comet taken by the NASA Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 on January 8,...

Comparison of Comet Nucleus Sizes Thumbnail Image

Comparison of Comet Nucleus Sizes

This diagram compares the size of the icy, solid nucleus of comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) to several other comets. The majority of comet nuclei observed are smaller than Halley’s comet. They are typically a mile across or less. Comet C/2014 UN271 is currently the...

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 11, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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