Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1)
Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) is currently in the constellation of Pisces Austrinus. The current Right Ascension of Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) is 21h 36m 58s and the Declination is -36° 10’ 57” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current estimated magnitude of Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) is 13.09 (JPL) while the latest observed magnitude is 7.3 (COBS).
Summary of key facts about Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- C/2021 A1 (Leonard) is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- Given its current magnitude, C/2021 A1 (Leonard) is visible with the help of a small binocular.
- See also C/2021 A1 (Leonard) rise and set times.
- 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.
Additional information about Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) available on TheSkyLive:
Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) 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.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) Distance from Earth
The distance of Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) from Earth is currently 241,615,190 kilometers, equivalent to 1.615098 Astronomical Units. Light takes 13 minutes and 25.9415 seconds to travel from Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) 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.
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/2021 A1 (Leonard) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest approach of Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) to Earth
Between January 2013 and December 2100, the closest approach of Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) to Earth happens on Mon Dec 13 2021 at a distance of 0.234008 Astronomical Units, or 35,007,120 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) brightness
The current visual magnitude of Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) is 13.09.
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 Leonard (C/2021 A1), 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.
Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) at epoch 29 June 2021 00:00 UTC (JD: 2459395.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 1.00008497 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 132.68592108° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.61521543 AU 92,034,918 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q | n.a. |
| Semi-major axis | a | n.a. |
| Orbital period | period | n.a. |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2022-Jan-03 07:06:03 2,459,582.7959 JD |
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 225.08974412888° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 255.8896554843° |
| Mean anomaly | M | -0.000299650876235° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.00000160°/day |
Visualization of Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) 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!
View Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet Leonard (C/2021 A1) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Jan 19 | 21h 40m 44s | -36° 23’ 49” | 12.58 | Pisces Austrinus |
| 2022 Jan 20 | 21h 40m 17s | -36° 22’ 51” | 12.65 | Pisces Austrinus |
| 2022 Jan 21 | 21h 39m 50s | -36° 21’ 39” | 12.72 | Pisces Austrinus |
| 2022 Jan 22 | 21h 39m 21s | -36° 20’ 14” | 12.79 | Pisces Austrinus |
| 2022 Jan 23 | 21h 38m 53s | -36° 18’ 38” | 12.85 | Pisces Austrinus |
| 2022 Jan 24 | 21h 38m 22s | -36° 16’ 50” | 12.92 | Pisces Austrinus |
| 2022 Jan 25 | 21h 37m 53s | -36° 14’ 52” | 12.98 | Pisces Austrinus |
| 2022 Jan 26 | 21h 37m 23s | -36° 12’ 46” | 13.04 | Pisces Austrinus |
| 2022 Jan 27 | 21h 36m 53s | -36° 10’ 32” | 13.10 | Pisces Austrinus |
| 2022 Jan 28 | 21h 36m 24s | -36° 08’ 11” | 13.16 | Pisces Austrinus |
| 2022 Jan 29 | 21h 35m 53s | -36° 05’ 44” | 13.22 | Pisces Austrinus |
| 2022 Jan 30 | 21h 35m 25s | -36° 03’ 12” | 13.28 | Pisces Austrinus |
| 2022 Jan 31 | 21h 34m 55s | -36° 00’ 38” | 13.33 | Pisces Austrinus |
| 2022 Feb 01 | 21h 34m 27s | -35° 58’ 00” | 13.39 | Pisces Austrinus |