Christmas Comet, when will we be able to see it in Heaven?

This year the title "Christmas Comet"Is for comet C / 2021 A1 (Leonard) or comet Leonard, discovered on January 3 by the American astronomer Gregory J. Leonard atMount Lemmon Observatory in the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona.

The passage of this comet close to the sun is expected to take place on January 3, 2022, the perigee, the closest point to the earth will be reached on December 12. Do you know when his journey began? 35.000 years ago, watching its passage will be a unique event!

The Christmas comet you can see in December

At the moment, as stated by the astrophysicist Gianluca Massi, scientific director of the Virtual Telescope Project, the visibility of the "Christmas comet" is unpredictable. It is not yet known whether or how it will become visible to the naked eye, however there are possibilities that should not be underestimated.

On December 12 it will reach the minimum distance from our planet, equal to about 35 million kilometers, however it will be only 10 ° above the horizon, so we will need not only a very dark sky, but also without natural and / or artificial obstacles. . Ideally, you should go to a large hill / mountain meadow or a dark beach.

The "Christmas comet" should be visible until Christmas and then disappear from sight forever. The hope is that its increasing brightness will allow everyone to observe it even with the naked eye, as happened with the comet NEOWISE last year!