Comet Leonard 2021

There’ve been some remarkable photos of Comet Leonard as it approaches the sun.  Here are a few recent ones, taken from Sky and Telescope.

 

Braided flows of gas and dust stream from the head of Comet Leonard in a photo taken with an 8-inch telescope and QHY600 camera on December 24, 2021. Michael Jäger and Lukas Demetz.

 

Like water from a rotary lawn sprinkler, dust jets blast from the comet’s false nucleus in this carefully processed image from December 23, 2021. Michael Jäger, Lukas Demetz and Qi Yang

 

 

Comet Leonard shows off a pretty tail several degrees long on December 19, 2021, from Payson, Arizona. The comet’s altitude at the time was about 10°. Chris Schur