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🌎  Observing from: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
🌅 Sunrise: 5:57  ☀️ Transit: 12:05  🌅 Sunset: 18:14

Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard)

Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) is currently in the constellation of Triangulum. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) is 02h 31m 43s and the Declination is +34° 34’ 16” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) is 19.53 (JPL).

02h 31m 43s
+34° 34’ 16”
Triangulum
19.53

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 55.5°
Max altitude: 73.1°
Azimuth: 304.5°
  • C/2022 U1 (Leonard) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
  • Right now it is placed in the West direction at an altitude of 48° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2022 U1 (Leonard) is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Available Resources

Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.

Map showing Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) in Triangulum on March, 23 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Map showing Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) in Triangulum on March, 23 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen
 = visible to the naked eye
 = binocular, brighter than 10th magnitude
= current altitude ≥ 30°   = current altitude < 30°   = below the horizon
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2022 U1 (Leonard)
RA: 02h 31m 43s
Dec: +34° 34’ 16”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) from Earth is currently 868,243,967 kilometers, equivalent to 5.803852 Astronomical Units. Light takes 48 minutes and 16.1501 seconds to travel from Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) and arrive to us.

868,243,967
5.803852
48 minutes and 16.1501 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of C/2022 U1 (Leonard) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) to Earth happens on Sat Oct 28 2023 at a distance of 3.681746 Astronomical Units, or 550,781,418 kilometers:

Sat Oct 28 2023
550,781,418
3.681746

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) Brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) is 19.53.

19.53
-
-

The observed magnitude and coma diameter values are derived from the Comet Observers Database by averaging the values reported in recent observations (more recent than 4 days), when available. The Estimated Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of comets. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Estimated Magnitude as a directional indication. We acknowledge with thanks the comet observations from the COBS Comet Observation Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this table to report recent comet observations.

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard), according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) as a function of time

Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) at epoch 15 November 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459899.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99918023
Orbit inclination i 128.12531927°
Perihelion distance q 4.20328466 AU
628,802,436 km
Aphelion distance Q 10,250.58924241 AU
1,533,466,327,160 km
Semi-major axis a 5,127.39626353 AU
767,047,564,798 km
Orbital period period 367,158.4486 years
134,104,623.3535 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2024-Mar-25 14:27:46
2,460,395.1026 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 78.512726194053°
Longitude of the ascending node node 72.501640440415°
Mean anomaly M 359.99866956903°
Mean motion n 0.00000268°/day

Visualization of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard)
View Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Mar 16 02h 30m 35s +34° 16’ 50” 19.53 Triangulum
2023 Mar 17 02h 30m 42s +34° 18’ 51” 19.53 Triangulum
2023 Mar 18 02h 30m 50s +34° 20’ 56” 19.53 Triangulum
2023 Mar 19 02h 30m 57s +34° 23’ 04” 19.53 Triangulum
2023 Mar 20 02h 31m 06s +34° 25’ 18” 19.53 Triangulum
2023 Mar 21 02h 31m 15s +34° 27’ 36” 19.53 Triangulum
2023 Mar 22 02h 31m 24s +34° 29’ 57” 19.53 Triangulum
2023 Mar 23 02h 31m 35s +34° 32’ 23” 19.53 Triangulum
2023 Mar 24 02h 31m 45s +34° 34’ 54” 19.53 Triangulum
2023 Mar 25 02h 31m 57s +34° 37’ 28” 19.53 Triangulum
2023 Mar 26 02h 32m 08s +34° 40’ 08” 19.53 Triangulum
2023 Mar 27 02h 32m 20s +34° 42’ 51” 19.53 Triangulum
2023 Mar 28 02h 32m 31s +34° 45’ 38” 19.53 Triangulum
2023 Mar 29 02h 32m 44s +34° 48’ 29” 19.53 Triangulum