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Comets » 

Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard)

Above the horizon.  Circumpolar today
Alt: 37.02°   Az: 342.18°   Direction: North-North-West

Comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) is in the constellation of Cepheus, at a distance of 1,100,963,545.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 22h 44m 24s and the Declination is +70° 49’ 09” (apparent coordinates). The estimated magnitude of comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard), computed using JPL Horizons's data, is 29.94.

Finder Charts

The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.

Star map showing the position of comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) in the constellation of Cepheus on F, d Y. Field of view: 50x30 degrees. View interactive star map.
Star map showing the position of comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) in the constellation of Cepheus on F, d Y. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive star map.

The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.

C/2023 X1 (Leonard)
RA: 22h 43m 38s
Dec: +70° 41’ 05”
Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes. Go to the dedicated page

Equatorial Coordinates

Apparent

22h 44m 24s
+70° 49’ 09”
08h 47m 51s
07h 32m 16s

J2000

22h 43m 38s
+70° 41’ 05”

Additional Information

Cepheus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
29.94

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

The following table lists 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 03:42 UTC reaching a maximum altitude of 70.7°.

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 1,100,963,545.0 kilometers, equivalent to 7.3594867350 Astronomical Units. Light takes 1h 1m 12.419s to travel from comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) and arrive to us.

1,100,963,545.0
7.3594867350
1h 1m 12.419s

The following graph shows the distance of comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).

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 tracker.

Closest Approach to Earth

In the period between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) to Earth happened on Saturday 23 December 2023 at a distance of 1.025804 Astronomical Units, or 153,458,147 kilometers:

Saturday 23 December 2023
153,458,147
1.025804

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

Light Curve

The following chart shows the light curve of comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard), i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

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 December, 06 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 October 18, 2023
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

The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet C/2023 X1 (Leonard) relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.

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
Jun 30 2025 22h 51m 39s +70° 15’ 10” 29.89 Cepheus
Jul 01 2025 22h 50m 46s +70° 20’ 00” 29.90 Cepheus
Jul 02 2025 22h 49m 52s +70° 24’ 44” 29.90 Cepheus
Jul 03 2025 22h 48m 56s +70° 29’ 23” 29.91 Cepheus
Jul 04 2025 22h 47m 59s +70° 33’ 56” 29.91 Cepheus
Jul 05 2025 22h 47m 00s +70° 38’ 23” 29.92 Cepheus
Jul 06 2025 22h 46m 00s +70° 42’ 44” 29.92 Cepheus
Jul 07 2025 22h 44m 57s +70° 46’ 59” 29.93 Cepheus
Jul 08 2025 22h 43m 54s +70° 51’ 07” 29.94 Cepheus
Jul 09 2025 22h 42m 48s +70° 55’ 08” 29.94 Cepheus
Jul 10 2025 22h 41m 41s +70° 59’ 02” 29.95 Cepheus
Jul 11 2025 22h 40m 32s +71° 02’ 49” 29.95 Cepheus
Jul 12 2025 22h 39m 23s +71° 06’ 30” 29.96 Cepheus
Jul 13 2025 22h 38m 11s +71° 10’ 03” 29.96 Cepheus

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