In December, Comet Leonard will appear in the sky, visible without a telescope

In December, the inhabitants of the Earth will be able to observe an important astronomical event: comet Leonard, its scientific name C/2021A1, will be visible from the Northern Hemisphere. A bright space object will be visible even to the naked eye, according to Universe Today.

The comet is named after astronomer Gregory Leonard, USA, its first appearance was recorded in January 2021. It has a short dust tail of high density, the comet is moving towards the Sun. At the beginning of December, it will be visible with the help of telescopes in the morning and evening hours in the area of the constellations of Hounds, Wolfman, Snake, Ophiuchus and Hercules.

On December 12, Comet Leonard will pass as close to Earth as possible and will be visible to the naked eye. Its peak brightness is expected on December 13 and 14, it will reach +4 magnitude. The comet will pass between the Earth and the Sun, the effect of direct scattering is predicted, which predicts the brightness of its dense dust tail.

On January 3, 2022, the comet will pass the closest point in its orbit to the Sun and exit the Solar System.