A view of a comet over Australia. James Yu is the photographer.
Leonard is putting on one last show as he is falling out of view.
The comet made its closest approach to Earth on December 12th, marking the end of a month full of prime observing opportunities. The comet's tail has become twisted as it has continued through the inner solar system.
"It decided to return to life and unleash a couple of outbursts that reversed the fading trend", said an astronomer at the University of Maryland who specializes in comets.
Leonard, the best of the year, is fading and acting strange.
There are many comets that are unpredictable. The comet caught scientists' attention because it was making a rare journey from the frigid outer zone of the solar system and it would carry it remarkably close to the sun.
Skywatchers were hoping that the close approaches would make Leonard a great addition to the observing opportunities. During the run-up to the comet's Earth flyby in December, it stopped being as bright as expected.
Observers expect a comet to be brighter as it approaches Earth due to the decreasing distance and as it approaches the sun due to the warming temperatures. This trend didn't hold for Leonard. It appeared to be brighter, but only because of its distance. The comet's properties faded.
skywatchers were hypnotized by the twisted tail of comet Leonard as it approached the sun.
The solar wind is a stream of charged particles that travel across the solar system. There are two tails, one made of dust and the other of ion. The comet's ion tail is vulnerable to being shaped by the solar wind and the magnetic field because of the charged particles in it.
The influences from the solar wind are what causes the visual effects here. The ion tail is what most of the fascinating effects are from.
Coincidentally, the astronomer had their eyes on Leonard's ion tail. Scientists wondered if the comet might be falling apart after the fading episode in December.
That hasn't happened. Ye said that the comet seems to be doing well, and that the solar wind is doing its job.
Leonard came within about 90 million kilometers of the sun on Monday. Earth is about 150 million km from the sun.
The comet is speeding across the solar system. It will be about as far away from the sun as Jupiter was when it was first spotted. The trajectory of Leonard will carry it beyond the solar system into space.
Although it is becoming harder to see for northern observers, comet Leonard is a great target for amateur astronomer. It is currently appearing very low in the southwest sky just before sunset for skywatchers farther south than in Washington D.C.
If you're looking for binoculars or a telescope to observe objects like comet Leonard, check out our guides for the best deals. Check out our best cameras for night-sky photography.
If you take a picture of a comet or night sky, send it to spacephotos@space.com with your name and location in the subject line.
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