We use cookies to deliver essential features and to measure their performance. Learn more.
Help us keep TheSkyLive 100% free & ads-free, donate now!
Home
Search Objects
Major Solar System Objects
Comets
Asteroids
Spacecrafts
Star Maps
Orbits
public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 7:14 
Transit: 12:14 
Sunset: 17:14
sunny   (Daytime)  
What's Visible Now • Tonight Timeline
Search  close
Comets » 

Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard)

Above the horizon.  Circumpolar today
Alt: 65.86°   Az: 52.56°   Direction: North-East

Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) is in the constellation of Cepheus, at a distance of 929,508,133.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 21h 53m 58s and the Declination is +60° 19’ 15” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) is 28.74 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) in Cepheus on February, 15 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) in Cepheus on February, 15 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2023 X1 (Leonard)
RA: 21h 53m 11s
Dec: +60° 12’ 06”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

21h 53m 58s
+60° 19’ 15”
21h 16m 04s
19h 10m 03s

J2000

21h 53m 11s
+60° 12’ 06”

Additional Information

Cepheus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
28.74

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.

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Today Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) is circumpolar and transits at 12:10 UTC reaching a maximum altitude of 81.2°.
  • C/2023 X1 (Leonard) is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the North-East direction at an altitude of 65.86° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2023 X1 (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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) from Earth is currently 929,508,133.0 kilometers, equivalent to 6.2133780959 Astronomical Units. Light takes 51m 40.505s to travel from Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) and arrive to us.

929,508,133.0
6.2133780959
51m 40.505s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2023 X1 (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/2023 X1 (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/2023 X1 (Leonard) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) to Earth happens on Sat Dec 23 2023 at a distance of 1.025804 Astronomical Units, or 153,458,147 kilometers:

Sat Dec 23 2023
153,458,147
1.025804

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

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2023 X1 (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/2023 X1 (Leonard) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) at epoch 06 December 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460285.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00088038
Orbit inclination i 110.63600600°
Perihelion distance q 0.95414015 AU
142,737,335 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2023-Oct-18 07:34:35
2,460,235.8157 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 321.88728060658°
Longitude of the ascending node node 137.10488531173°
Mean anomaly M 0.0013724966610002°
Mean motion n 0.00002762°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard)
View Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 08 21h 45m 06s +60° 25’ 33” 28.66 Cepheus
2025 Feb 09 21h 46m 19s +60° 24’ 18” 28.67 Cepheus
2025 Feb 10 21h 47m 32s +60° 23’ 10” 28.68 Cepheus
2025 Feb 11 21h 48m 45s +60° 22’ 10” 28.69 Cepheus
2025 Feb 12 21h 49m 56s +60° 21’ 18” 28.71 Cepheus
2025 Feb 13 21h 51m 08s +60° 20’ 32” 28.72 Cepheus
2025 Feb 14 21h 52m 20s +60° 19’ 55” 28.73 Cepheus
2025 Feb 15 21h 53m 30s +60° 19’ 25” 28.74 Cepheus
2025 Feb 16 21h 54m 41s +60° 19’ 02” 28.75 Cepheus
2025 Feb 17 21h 55m 51s +60° 18’ 47” 28.77 Cepheus
2025 Feb 18 21h 57m 01s +60° 18’ 38” 28.78 Cepheus
2025 Feb 19 21h 58m 10s +60° 18’ 37” 28.79 Cepheus
2025 Feb 20 21h 59m 19s +60° 18’ 42” 28.80 Cepheus
2025 Feb 21 22h 00m 27s +60° 18’ 56” 28.81 Cepheus

Additional Resources