Comet Leonard from Space

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

December 15 of 2021.
The picture shows a comet. The Earth's atmosphere, stars, and a meteorite are also visible.
There are satellite trails. The image was taken with a telescope.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

The comet Leonard is from space.
The image is from the Yangwang-1 Space Telescope.

What does comet Leonard look like from space? The current bright comet is only one of several space delights shown in today's featured image from Origin.Space. Five days ago, C/2021 A1 (Leonard)) was visible with an extended tail near the image center. The Earth is visible on the lower right, while the atmosphere glows from the lower left to the upper right. The trails of two satellites can be seen in front of a bunch of distant stars. There are bands of light running from the lower right to the upper left. The image caught a meteorite below the airglow. Look to the west just after sunset or just before sunrise to see Leonard come down.

The picture is of open space.

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.

December 16th, 2021.
See the explanation. Clicking on the picture will bring you to the download page.
The highest resolution version is available.

There are similarities between the South and the North.
Fefo Bouvier's image credit is copyrighted.

Firefly flash along a moonlit countryside in this scene taken on the night of December 13/14 from southern Uruguay, planet Earth. During the annual Geminid meteor shower, the partly cloudy skies allowed for the shooting of stars. The frames were recorded over a period of 1.5 hours. The shower's radiant was to the north and so the streaks appear to converge at an antiradiant below the southern horizon. Perspective is to blame for the shower's apparent antiradiant. The dust trail of the asteroid is moving along parallel tracks as Earth sweeps through it. They enter Earth's atmosphere at a rate of 22 kilometers per second.

The picture is of the north.

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.