Something strange is happening to the comet that skywatchers have been anticipating.
skywatchers were eagerly anticipating December and January, when the comet was due to pass by first Earth, then the sun, after the astronomer first spotted it in January 2021. Observers noticed something strange by late November. The comet should be getting brighter as it approaches the sun, but it's not getting brighter because it's becoming inherently brighter.
It seems to be fading.
It's not good news. The comet should be brighter and more colorful, according to an astronomer at the University of Maryland. "If it's not getting brighter then something is wrong, but we don't know what at this stage."
This month, a comet will light up the sky.
The iceball may be doomed based on what scientists have seen from previous comets. The first sign that something is happening is when comets that have broken apart fade as they fly closer to the sun.
There are many theories about why it's fading. Something bad is happening to the comet.
He said that the most likely hypothesis is that the space station will split up soon. Other factors could be to blame. Ye thinks that it's unlikely that the comet will run out of ice to hit the sun. He said it seemed to be too coincidental.
It's too early to call Leonard a goner.
The comet looks fine in the images I've seen this morning. The trend of the fading is still going on. We don't know at this point.
The European Space Agency's Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre used the Calar Alto Schmidt telescope to take this picture. The comet images were stacked on top of each other. The image is from the NEOCC.
Ye said that the first sign that a comet is doomed is that it loses its ion tail, a stream of charged particles pointing from the comet in the direction opposite the sun. Within a few hours of a comet breaking apart, that feature could disappear.
On Sunday, December 12th, comet Leonard will make its closest approach to Earth. Even if the comet lasts for a long time, it isn't necessarily safe.
"Comets do weird things," Ye said. There are even theories that comets can break up when they're farther out from the sun. We won't know until we see it.
There are a number of factors that could cause a comet to break apart. The comet's heart could also be torn apart by the tug of the sun or a large planet. If the comet's material is able to get to the right place, it could speed up the comet's spin so much that the iceball flies to pieces.
If Leonard breaks apart, scientists will never know what caused it. It's difficult to determine which is the dominant driver for individual comets.
Skywatchers should not panic.
The sky map shows the location of the comet in the night sky. The image is from NASA/JPL-Caltech.
There is still time to see Leonard in the sky. When a comet begins to break apart, there's a delay between when it fades as seen from Earth.
It will take a few days before you can see the comet change. It takes time for the comet to fully disintegrate, so we should be in for a bright next week.
The sky map shows the location of the comet in the night sky. The image is from NASA/JPL-Caltech.
The comet will be visible in the morning. It will disappear for a few days, hidden by the sun's glare, before it can be seen in the evening. Visit our guide for more information on spotting comet Leonard.
He hopes to be able to see Leonard next week because of the cloudy weather. He appreciates the display more than what comets can tell scientists.
He said that they're fun to watch and for bright comets they're beautiful. It's great to see them at night.
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