Comet Leonard, brightest of the year, to whizz past Earth on December 12

By Team Newsable | First Published Dec 9, 2021, 3:50 PM IST

Comet Leonard, also known as Comet C/2021 A1, was identified in early January 2021 and is now going to the Sun's closest approach.

A once-in-a-lifetime comet will be visible in the sky throughout the bulk of December, and it will pass closest to Earth on December 12. Comet Leonard, also known as Comet C/2021 A1, was identified in early January 2021 and is now going to the Sun's closest approach. The comet was discovered in the core of the Whale Galaxy, NGC 4631. Comet Leonard will get brighter on January 3, 2022, when it is predicted to hit the Sun and fly away for a million years, after its closest visit to Earth (and much closer to Venus) in December. It will, after that, become an interstellar comet, leaving our Solar System behind.

According to some predictions, the comet will brighten and become visible to the human eye on December 12, when it will pass closest to Earth, just a few weeks before it makes its closest approach to the Sun. While comets are notoriously difficult to anticipate, Comet Leonard will be visible in the east-northeast sky a few hours before sunrise over the constellations Coma Berenices, Boötes, and Serpens Caput. It will be simple to spot with a small telescope or a pair of binoculars.

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According to space.com, preliminary calculations revealed that it was in a very long, flattened elliptical orbit that may take it as far as 523 billion kilometres. As it got closer to the Sun, it began to transition immediately from a frozen form to a gas, leaving a trail behind.

Also Read | New asteroid named 'T4660 Nereus', size of Eiffel Tower, heading for Earth in December

Comet Leonard is best visible in the early morning before sunrise throughout the month. It may be found by looking east one to two hours before sunrise. It will rise to its most significant point in the sky just before dawn, but the atmosphere will also be the lightest at that time. At sunset on December 12, wait for the comet to pass Venus, Mercury, Saturn, and Jupiter in the southwest.

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