NASAs STEREO-A satellite captured this view of Comet Leonard as it continued to streak into the inner planetary system last week. STEREO-A recorded the warming comet as it cast off a gassy shroud and increased in brightness.Named for Gregory Leonard, an astronomer at the University of Arizonas Lunar and Planetary Laboratory who found the iceball in January 2021, Comet Leonard, or C/2021 A1, is a highly long-period comet. Were witnessing its very first– and last– method to the inner planetary system for over 80,000 years.In the previous a number of days, as the comet neared the sun and warmed up, it began to go through “outbursts,” in which it remarkably shakes off volatile material like gases and water ice. Those bursts appear as rapid changes in brightness, NASA authorities wrote in an image description. Video: Comet Leonard identified by NASA satelliteRelated: Want to see Comet Leonard? Here are telescope and field glasses recommendationsNASAs STEREO-A satellite caught this view of Comet Leonard on Dec. 14, 2021, using the satellites SECCHI/HI -2 electronic camera. (Image credit: NASA GSFC)The image was recorded by STEREO-A, a golf cart-sized telescope that introduced in 2006 to observe the sun. (It launched with a twin, STEREO-B, but NASA lost contact with it in 2014.) STEREO-A has actually been watching Comet Leonard because November.Leonard is the brightest comet of 2021, and it made its closest method to Earth on Dec. 12 and to Venus on Dec. 17. The comets still coming closer to the sun. It will reach its closest point to our star on Jan. 3, 2022, at a distance of about 0.6 AU (56 million miles or 90 million kilometers). You can learn more about how to see Comet Leonard with these seeing pointers from the comets discoverer.Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
