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

Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard)

Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) is currently in the constellation of Cassiopeia. The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) is 02h 31m 07s and the Declination is +69° 50’ 52” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) is 16.54 (JPL).

02h 31m 07s
+69° 50’ 52”
Cassiopeia
16.54

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Today Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) is circumpolar and transits at 14:27 UTC reaching a maximum altitude of 71.6°.
  • C/2022 W3 (Leonard) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
  • Right now it is placed in the North-North-West direction at an altitude of 66° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2022 W3 (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 W3 (Leonard) Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Comet C/2022 W3 (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 W3 (Leonard) in Cassiopeia on March, 23 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Map showing Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) in Cassiopeia 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 W3 (Leonard) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2022 W3 (Leonard)
RA: 02h 31m 07s
Dec: +69° 50’ 52”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard)
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) from Earth is currently 289,653,787 kilometers, equivalent to 1.936216 Astronomical Units. Light takes 16 minutes and 6.1810 seconds to travel from Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) and arrive to us.

289,653,787
1.936216
16 minutes and 6.1810 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2022 W3 (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 W3 (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 W3 (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 W3 (Leonard) to Earth

Between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) to Earth happens on Tue Aug 15 2023 at a distance of 0.757316 Astronomical Units, or 113,292,919 kilometers:

Tue Aug 15 2023
113,292,919
0.757316

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

Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) Brightness

The current visual magnitude of Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) is 16.54.

16.54
-
-

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 W3 (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 W3 (Leonard) as a function of time

Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) at epoch 21 December 2022 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459935.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.99510464
Orbit inclination i 103.56090840°
Perihelion distance q 1.39775462 AU
209,101,115 km
Aphelion distance Q 569.65565113 AU
85,219,272,612 km
Semi-major axis a 285.52670287 AU
42,714,186,863 km
Orbital period period 4,824.7887 years
1,762,254.0704 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2023-Jun-22 18:27:23
2,460,118.2690 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 116.5176453625°
Longitude of the ascending node node 132.27069248431°
Mean anomaly M 359.96266324649°
Mean motion n 0.00020428°/day

Visualization of Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2022 W3 (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 W3 (Leonard)
View Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Comet C/2022 W3 (Leonard) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2022 W3 (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 W3 (Leonard) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Mar 16 02h 46m 09s +72° 14’ 16” 16.67 Cassiopeia
2023 Mar 17 02h 43m 41s +71° 54’ 19” 16.66 Cassiopeia
2023 Mar 18 02h 41m 23s +71° 34’ 45” 16.64 Cassiopeia
2023 Mar 19 02h 39m 16s +71° 15’ 33” 16.62 Cassiopeia
2023 Mar 20 02h 37m 18s +70° 56’ 44” 16.61 Cassiopeia
2023 Mar 21 02h 35m 27s +70° 38’ 20” 16.59 Cassiopeia
2023 Mar 22 02h 33m 44s +70° 20’ 21” 16.57 Cassiopeia
2023 Mar 23 02h 32m 08s +70° 02’ 44” 16.55 Cassiopeia
2023 Mar 24 02h 30m 39s +69° 45’ 34” 16.54 Cassiopeia
2023 Mar 25 02h 29m 16s +69° 28’ 50” 16.52 Cassiopeia
2023 Mar 26 02h 27m 57s +69° 12’ 30” 16.50 Cassiopeia
2023 Mar 27 02h 26m 44s +68° 56’ 35” 16.48 Cassiopeia
2023 Mar 28 02h 25m 36s +68° 41’ 07” 16.46 Cassiopeia
2023 Mar 29 02h 24m 32s +68° 26’ 02” 16.44 Cassiopeia