Bernardinelli–Bernstein Comet | Oort Cloud Comet

The video introduces Bernardinelli-Bernstein, a large Oort cloud comet also known as C/2014 UN271. Discovered in 2014 by astronomers Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein using the Dark Energy Survey, this comet is the largest ever observed, measuring between 63 and 93 miles across. The video explains the Oort cloud, a spherical layer of icy objects surrounding the sun, and details the comet's orbit, including its perihelion and aphelion. Bernardinelli-Bernstein will approach the solar system in 2031 but will not be visible to the naked eye. The comet's composition is described as a cosmic snowball of rock dust and frozen gases.

Who were the astronomers that discovered the Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet?

• Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson

• Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein

• Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler

• Edwin Hubble and Albert Einstein

What is the Oort cloud?

• A ring of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter

• A type of nebula found in deep space

• A cluster of stars in the Milky Way

• A spherical layer of icy objects surrounding the sun

When will the Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet make its closest approach to Earth?

• 2031

• 2025

• 2023

• 2040

How does the size of the Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet compare to Olympus Mons?

• It is twice as long

• It is 5 and 1/2 times as long

• It is half the size

• It is the same size

What is a comet primarily composed of?

• Rock dust and frozen gases

• Molten lava and ash

• Metallic minerals and water

• Hydrogen and helium