November 21, 2021
In the grand ledger of cosmic time, a human life is breathtakingly brief. But brevity is not insignificance.
Introducing Comet Leonard
Birthday · November 21, 2021
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APOD published November 21, 2021. Credit: Dan Bartlett. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Here comes Comet Leonard. Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) was discovered as a faint smudge in January 2021 when it was out past Mars -- but its orbit will take the giant shedding ice-ball into the inner Solar System, passing near both Earth and Venus in December before it swoops around the Sun in early January 2022. Although comets are notoriously hard to predict, some estimations have Comet Leonard brightening to become visible to the unaided eye in December. Comet Leonard was captured just over a week ago already sporting a green-tinged coma and an extended dust tail. The featured picture was composed from 62 images taken through a moderate-sized telescope -- one set of exposures tracking the comet, while another set tracking the background stars. The exposures were taken from the dark skies above the Eastern Sierras (Mountains), near June Lake in California, USA. Soon after passing near the Earth in mid-December, the comet will shift from northern to southern skies. APOD Editor (RJN) Online Monday: NASA's Best Space Images (& Videos)
Image credit: Dan Bartlett