Dirty Snowball

Comets are several miles in diameter and composed of rock, ice and other organic compounds.  They are frequently described as the dirty snowballs of outer space.

If you missed Comet NEOWISE in 2020 another dirty snowball has materialized this year and will be making a flyby of planet Earth this month.  

Astronomer Gregory J. Leonard discovered this comet in January of this year and Comet C/2021 A1 - called Leonard - has arrived and if you are an early riser might just be viewable before sunrise.

Not only are you going to have to be an early riser - you are going to need a clear, dark sky and probably a pair of binoculars or a telescope.  If you locate a fuzzy star you'll have spotted it!

Comets take tens of thousands of year to transit the sun and as a consequence this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see this visitor.  I think that might just be worth dragging my butt out of my cozy-warm bed to attempt a search of the night sky.  

Beginning tomorrow morning, about thirty minutes before sunrise, look to the eastern horizon below the star Arcturus.  

Image EarthSky.org

Leonard is moving at an exceedingly fast clip and it's position in the sky is constantly changing.  If you are not an early riser on December 17th look towards the southwest horizon and following sunset you might be able to spot Leonard directly below the planet Venus. 

Image EarthSky.org