Introducing Comet Leonard

Discover the universe! Each day a different image or photograph of our universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by an astronomer.

November 21 of 2021.
The featured image has an image of Leonard.
There was a coma and a dust tail.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Leonard was introduced as a comet.
The image is copyrighted by Dan Bartlett.

Here comes Leonard. The comet was discovered as a faint smudge in January of 2021, but it will make its closest approach to the Sun in December. The comet will be visible to the eye in December, according to some estimates. Leonard was captured a week ago and already had a coma and a dust tail. The picture was composed from 62 images taken through a telescope, with one set of exposures tracking the comet, and another set of stars. The exposures were taken from the dark skies above the Eastern Sierras. The comet will move to the south after passing near the Earth in December.

Monday: NASA's Best Space Images.
Tomorrow's picture is moon building.

Robert Nemiroff is an author and Jerry Bonnell is an editor.
Phillip Newman has specific rights.
NASA has a privacy policy on the internet.
There is a service at NASA.
& Michigan Tech. U.

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Discover the universe! Each day a different image or photograph of our universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by an astronomer.

November 22, 2021.
The featured image shows a partial eclipse of the Moon.
The Gran Torre Santiago building is in Santiago, Chile. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

There is a lunar eclipse over a Skyscraper.
The image is copyrighted by Yuri Beletsky (Carnegie Las Campanas Observatory).

Why is the moon on top of this building? There is planning. It took careful planning, including figuring out exactly where to place the camera and when to take the shot, to create this striking superposition. The image was taken in the early morning hours of November 19 near the peak of the partial lunar eclipse that was occurring as the Moon passed through the Earth's shadow. Almost the entire Moon was in the dark part of the Earth's shadow. The Gran Torre Santiago building is the tallest building in South America. Although the entire eclipse lasted six hours, this image had to be taken within just a few seconds to get the alignment right, as the Earth's rotation moved the building out of alignment. A total eclipse of the Sun will be visible from the bottom of our world on December 4.

Monday: NASA's Best Space Images.
The lunar eclipse of November 19 is a notable APOD submission.
Tomorrow's picture is X-raying the Sun.

Robert Nemiroff is an author and Jerry Bonnell is an editor.
Phillip Newman has specific rights.
NASA has a privacy policy on the internet.
There is a service at NASA.
& Michigan Tech. U.