Whatever you plan to do on Saturday evening, make sure you can get up early the next morning. Because on Sunday at dawn, a unique and beautiful natural phenomenon will occur: a comet will pass across the eastern sky and should be easy to see.
A once-in-a-lifetime encounter with comet Leonard
Leonard, or “C/2021 A1 Leonard” as the comet is technically called, will pass close to Earth just this once. After passing through the solar system in a wide arc, the celestial body will be hurled into the vastness of space and never return. However, as it moves at a relatively “short” distance of 34 million kilometers from our planet, we will still have the opportunity to bid it farewell.
Like all other comets, Leonard consists of a mixture of ice, dust and rock. As it approached the sun, its nucleus began to vaporize, forming a dense cloud of dust and gas that creates the characteristic comet tail – which we should be able to see on Sunday. This fact, and the presence of an extended atmosphere unbound by gravity surrounding its central nucleus, distinguishes it from asteroids.
The comet is named after Gregory J. Leonard, the astronomer who discovered it at the Mount Lemmon Observatory in the US state of Arizona. It was spotted on January 3 and is the first comet discovered this year. The nucleus is estimated to be around 1 km in diameter.
If the weather is fine enough, “C/2021 A1 Leonard” should appear on the eastern horizon on Sunday between six and seven in the morning. It might be visible to the naked eye, but binoculars or a telescope are definitely recommended. In the worst case – if you overslept or it’s a cloudy morning – the internet will help us out. An astronomical observation of the celestial phenomenon is streamed live on YouTube, for example.
Other celestial phenomena in December
Fortunately for amateur astronomers and skywatchers, this won’t be the only celestial spectacle to be seen this month. The annual Geminid meteor shower is also coming up. On the night of December 13th to 14th – Monday to Tuesday next week – the frequency of shooting stars will reach its peak, which can mean up to 150 shooting stars per hour.