Now this is interesting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_UN271
2014 UN271 is a trans-Neptunian object on a cometary-like orbit from the Oort cloud. It is currently approaching the Sun at a distance of 20.2 AU (3.02 billion km) and will reach its perihelion of 10.9 AU (just outside of Saturn‘s orbit) in January 2031. Announced in June 2021, it was discovered by astronomers Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein in archival images from the Dark Energy Survey.[1] When first imaged in October 2014, the object was 29 AU (4.3 billion km) from the Sun and almost as far as Neptune‘s orbit.
2014 UN271‘s absolute magnitude of 7.8[2] suggests the body could be in the range of a 100 km in diameter. However, if there is undetected cometary activity[6] from supervolatiles such as CO and CO2, it could be significantly smaller. Cometary activity has previously been observed as far as 25.8 AU (3.86 billion km) from the Sun on a few comets, for example C/2010 U3 (Boattini).[7]
2014 UN271 took around 1.5 million years to complete half an orbit from its furthest distance of 40,000 AU (0.6 ly) in the Oort cloud.[4] It will come to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) around 20 January 2031 at a distance of 10.95 AU[5] which is just outside of Saturn’s orbit. The outbound orbital period will be approximately 3.5 million years with an aphelion distance of about 55,000 AU (0.9 ly).[4] The object is only very loosely bound to the Sun.
Basically a *gigantic* comet will come within the orbit of Saturn in nine and a half years. Time enough for SpaceX to build and launch a flyby probe?
Doubtful that this will be something visible even with sizable “personal” telescopes, but it’d certainly be interesting to see such a thing up close. It’s the size of a “dwarf planet” and has spent the bulk of its existence far from any star.