[HN Gopher] After 3.5M-year hiatus, largest comet ever discovere...
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       After 3.5M-year hiatus, largest comet ever discovered is headed our
       way
        
       Author : fortran77
       Score  : 51 points
       Date   : 2021-10-02 14:12 UTC (8 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.livescience.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.livescience.com)
        
       | einpoklum wrote:
       | Corrected title:
       | 
       | "After 3.5M-year hiatus, largest comet ever discovered is _not_
       | headed our way. It will get to a Saturn-like distance from the
       | Sun though."
       | 
       | Another correction:
       | 
       | > a clear indication of an icy comet approaching the relatively
       | warm inner solar system.
       | 
       | The solar system is mostly empty space, which is neither warm nor
       | icy. The Sun warms things; but it doesn't warm objects at Saturn
       | distance that much.
       | 
       | Disappointing, from a site with science in its name. Here's a
       | longer and more in-depth coverage:
       | 
       | https://www.space.com/giant-comet-bernardinelli-bernstein-di...
        
         | kemitche wrote:
         | When my friends text me to say they are "on their way" I don't
         | exactly jump to the conclusion that they are literally going to
         | ram my house with their car.
        
           | einpoklum wrote:
           | Well, when your friends are on their way, they are going to
           | eventually be at your place, right? ... and unlike your
           | friends, the comet doesn't park its car outside :-P
        
       | jagger27 wrote:
       | I hope I get to see a comet with the naked eye before Halley's
       | next visit. I'll be pretty old by then.
        
         | dylan604 wrote:
         | Hale-Bopp was the best show of a comet I have seen. I have been
         | excited and ultimately let down by some of the overhyped
         | comments in the more recent past as the comets have not held
         | together as they approached. I did get some shots of PanStarrs
         | back in 2013, but it was nothing like Hale-Bopp. There have
         | been some other comets recently, but sadly they have only been
         | visible in the southern hemisphere.
        
         | Bababak wrote:
         | Just wait a couple of months:
         | 
         | http://www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/2021A1/2021A1.html
        
           | jagger27 wrote:
           | Nice. A magnitude of 4 isn't super bright, but I'll
           | definitely try to check it out! Thanks.
        
       | tejtm wrote:
       | Kuiper belt nigh minor planetoid to slough off in outer solar
       | system
        
       | amelius wrote:
       | Was this found by mere luck or do we have a warning system for
       | objects heading our way?
        
       | Aachen wrote:
       | > For starters, the enormous rock poses no threat to Earth. [...]
       | The comet's closest approach to Earth will occur sometime in the
       | year 2031, when scientists predict the comet will swoop within
       | 10.97 AU of the sun -- putting it just outside of Saturn's orbit,
       | 
       | This "for starters" is buried 6 paragraphs into the article.
        
         | INTPenis wrote:
         | Wow, I love how the title is practically crafted to incite
         | terror and panic. "After millions of years of peace, your world
         | will be ruined!"
        
           | [deleted]
        
         | downWidOutaFite wrote:
         | The title didn't give me the sense that they were hyping a
         | sensationalist earth-collision angle. The sub-title right at
         | the top says the comet will strafe Saturn's orbit in 2031.
        
           | Dylan16807 wrote:
           | I still expected it to reach the inner solar system!
        
         | kemitche wrote:
         | The sub-headline of the article says it too: "The gargantuan
         | Bernardinelli-Bernstein comet will strafe Saturn's orbit in
         | 2031. Scientists are stoked."
         | 
         | If anything were actually on a collision course with Earth, I
         | can almost guarantee the headlines of every major news outlet
         | would make it clear.
        
           | geoduck14 wrote:
           | >If anything were actually on a collision course with Earth,
           | I can almost guarantee the headlines of every major news
           | outlet would make it clear.
           | 
           | A sure fire way to know if something is happening is when one
           | of the 4 MSM channels start to deny that it is happening.
        
         | axpy906 wrote:
         | Maybe change the title to "Heads toward our Solar System" or
         | "Heads toward Saturn"?
        
       | sidcool wrote:
       | Clickbait warning.
        
         | gremIin wrote:
         | Why is clickbait allowed on HN? I do not have the option to
         | flag this submission for clickbait.
        
           | edoceo wrote:
           | You need more karma for flag privs
        
       | xbar wrote:
       | Maybe someone will finally name this comet Ajax.
        
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       (page generated 2021-10-02 23:01 UTC)