Frame from a movie caught by the SoloHI instrument on the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft of Comet Leonard on December 17-18, 2021. Credit: ESA/NASA/NRL/ SoloHI.
Comet Leonard, a mass of area dust, rock, and ice about a kilometer throughout is heading for a close pass of the Sun on 3 January, and the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft has actually been viewing its evolution over the last days.
About Solar Orbiter.
Solar Orbiter launched 10 February 2020 and is on a mission to supply the very first views of the Suns uncharted polar areas, offering unprecedented insight into how our moms and dad star works. It will examine how intense radiation and energetic particles being blasted out from the Sun and brought by the solar wind through the Solar System effect our house world, to better comprehend and forecast periods of rainy space weather..
When SoloHI recorded these images, the comet was roughly between the Sun and the spacecraft, with its gas and dust tails pointing towards the spacecraft. Towards the end of the image sequence, our view of both of the tails enhances as the seeing angle at which we see the comet increases, and SoloHI gets a side-on view of the comet.
Comet Leonard, formally understood as C/2021 A1 (Leonard), was discovered in January 2021 by Gregory Leonard, who identified it in images taken from the Mt. Lemmon Observatory in Arizona.
The comet is currently on its inbound journey around the Sun with its tail spotting out behind. When SoloHI tape-recorded these images, the comet was roughly in between the Sun and the spacecraft, with its gas and dust tails pointing towards the spacecraft. Toward the end of the image series, our view of both of the tails improves as the viewing angle at which we see the comet increases, and SoloHI gets a side-on view of the comet.
A faint coronal mass ejection front is also visible moving from the right-hand man side of the frame in the last second of the film.
SoloHI will continue observing the comet till it leaves its field of view on December 22, and will be matched by other instrument observations.
Ground-based telescopes and other spacecraft have actually also been following the comet on its journey through the Solar System and offering images, including NASAs Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory-A spacecraft– see here.
Comet Leonard, officially understood as C/2021 A1 (Leonard), was found in January 2021 by Gregory Leonard, who found it in images taken from the Mt. Lemmon Observatory in Arizona. Its closest pass on 3 January 2022 will take it within 90 million kilometers of the Sun, a little majority Earths range to the Sun. If it doesnt break down, its trajectory will fling it into interstellar area, never ever to return.
The Solar Orbiter Heliospheric Imager (SoloHI) captured an animated sequence of images 17-19 December that reveals comet Leonard spotting diagonally across the field of view with the Milky Way as a sensational background. Venus and Mercury are also visible in the leading right, Venus appearing brighter and moving from delegated right.