Hubble image archive
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, 2...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2022
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2022-020-01fzbh6c25mnbex29antkpnb8a
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, 2022. A model of the coma (middle panel) was obtained by means of fitting the surface brightness profile assembled from the observed image on the left. This allowed for the coma to be subtracted, unveiling the point-like glow from the nucleus. Combined with radio telescope data, astronomers arrived at a precise measurement of the nucleus size. That's no small feat from something about 2 billion miles away. Though the nucleus is estimated to be as large as 85 miles across, it is so far away it cannot be resolved by Hubble. Its size is derived from its reflectivity as measured by Hubble. The nucleus is estimated to be as black as charcoal. The nucleus area is gleaned from radio observations.
Credits
Science
NASA, ESA, Man-To Hui (Macau University of Science and Technology), David Jewitt (UCLA)
Image Processing
Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
Image Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Comet C/2014 UN271 |
| Object Description | Large Oort cloud comet |
| Distance | At the time of observations, the comet was about 19 AU from Earth (2 billion miles). |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | HST observations include those from programs (M. Hui). |
| Instrument | WFC3/UVIS |
| Exposure Dates | 8 Jan 2022 |
| Filters | F350LP |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | 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. |
Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov