Home » Home » NASA’s Hubble Telescope, Astronomers Discover Comet 100,000-Times Bigger Than Halley’s

NASA’s Hubble Telescope, Astronomers Discover Comet 100,000-Times Bigger Than Halley’s

By  //  February 14, 2017

located approx. 170 light years away from Earth

This artist’s concept shows a massive, comet-like object falling toward a white dwarf. New Hubble Space Telescope findings are evidence for a belt of comet-like bodies orbiting the white dwarf, similar to our solar system’s Kuiper Belt.  (NASA, ESA, Z. Levy image)

(AOL BUZZ60) – A team of astronomers in Garching, Germany, discovered a comet-like object in a distant galaxy that is similar in composition to the famed Halley’s comet — however, this one is about 100,000 times bigger.

Using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, researchers discovered the massive object was “rich in the elements essential for life, including nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and sulfur.”

The “comet” is in the process of being ripped apart and “scattered” in the atmosphere of a white dwarf, dubbed WD 1425+540, which is located approximately 170 light years away from Earth.

Siyi Xu of the European Southern Observatory, who led the team that made the discovery, says this is the first time nitrogen has been detected in the planetary debris that falls onto a white dwarf.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE OF THIS STORY ON AOL

VIDEO: NASA Cassini Huygens Spacecraft Saturn Mission Invites Public To Share Artistic CreationsRelated Story:
VIDEO: NASA Cassini Huygens Spacecraft Saturn Mission Invites Public To Share Artistic Creations

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPACE NEWS FROM NASA

Using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, researchers discovered the massive object was “rich in the elements essential for life, including nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and sulfur.