Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
This site is free and ad-free thanks to the support of our users. If you can, please consider a donation.
public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:47  
SunsetSet: 18:30 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now
Comets » 

Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard)

Altitude: 22.0°   Azimuth: 14.4°   Direction: North-North-East

Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) is currently in the constellation of Cassiopeia. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) is 01h 06m 08s and the Declination is +58° 29’ 03” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) is 18.07 (JPL) while the latest observed magnitude is 19.1 (COBS).

01h 06m 08s
+58° 29’ 03”
Cassiopeia
19.1
0.4'
n/a
2023-09-27
18.07

The observed values of Magnitude, Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted 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.

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

Today Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) is circumpolar and transits at 00:16 UTC reaching a maximum altitude of 83.0°.
  • C/2022 U1 (Leonard) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the North-North-East direction at an altitude of 22° 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.

Finder chart of C/2022 U1 (Leonard) in Cassiopeia on October,04 2023
Map showing Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) in Cassiopeia on October, 04 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of C/2022 U1 (Leonard)
Map showing Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) in Cassiopeia on October, 04 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

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: 01h 06m 08s
Dec: +58° 29’ 03”
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 566,559,217 kilometers, equivalent to 3.787214 Astronomical Units. Light takes 31 minutes and 29.8381 seconds to travel from Comet C/2022 U1 (Leonard) and arrive to us.

566,559,217
3.787214
31 minutes and 29.8381 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 and Light Curve

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 Sep 27 01h 28m 54s +58° 15’ 32” 18.13 Cassiopeia
2023 Sep 28 01h 25m 59s +58° 18’ 48” 18.13 Cassiopeia
2023 Sep 29 01h 23m 03s +58° 21’ 39” 18.12 Cassiopeia
2023 Sep 30 01h 20m 05s +58° 24’ 03” 18.11 Cassiopeia
2023 Oct 01 01h 17m 05s +58° 26’ 00” 18.10 Cassiopeia
2023 Oct 02 01h 14m 03s +58° 27’ 29” 18.09 Cassiopeia
2023 Oct 03 01h 11m 00s +58° 28’ 30” 18.09 Cassiopeia
2023 Oct 04 01h 07m 57s +58° 29’ 00” 18.08 Cassiopeia
2023 Oct 05 01h 04m 50s +58° 29’ 03” 18.07 Cassiopeia
2023 Oct 06 01h 01m 44s +58° 28’ 35” 18.06 Cassiopeia
2023 Oct 07 00h 58m 36s +58° 27’ 37” 18.06 Cassiopeia
2023 Oct 08 00h 55m 27s +58° 26’ 08” 18.05 Cassiopeia
2023 Oct 09 00h 52m 18s +58° 24’ 10” 18.04 Cassiopeia
2023 Oct 10 00h 49m 09s +58° 21’ 39” 18.04 Cassiopeia