Look up to see bright comet Leonard in December

By Ashley Strickland, CNN

(CNN) — There is a new comet in town, and December is your only chance to see it in the Northern Hemisphere. Astronomers say that comet Leonard is our best and brightest comet to see in 2021.

The comet was first discovered in January by astronomer Greg Leonard. The celestial object has likely spent the last 35,000 years traveling toward the sun, according to Sky & Telescope, and once it makes a close pass of our star on Jan. 3, people in the Northern Hemisphere won’t be seeing the comet again.

As the comet nears the sun, it brightens, which is why the weeks leading up to this event make the comet easier to see.

It’s also an ultrafast comet, blazing through the inner solar system at 158,084 miles per hour (71 kilometers per second), but it will still appear like a slow-moving object due to its distance from Earth, according to EarthSky.

<p>This is an illustration of the comet Leonard, which was first discovered in January by astronomer Greg Leonard and has likely spent the last 35,000 years traveling toward the sun, according to Sky & Telescope.</p>

JPL-Caltech/NASA

This is an illustration of the comet Leonard, which was first discovered in January by astronomer Greg Leonard and has likely spent the last 35,000 years traveling toward the sun, according to Sky & Telescope.

Comet Leonard will make it closest approach to Earth on Dec. 12, coming within 21 million miles (34 million kilometers) of our planet. Then, it will sweep by Venus on Dec. 18. The comet will be visible in the skies of both the Northern and Southern hemispheres this month.

It’s difficult to predict how well we may be able to see a comet, but you’ll probably need binoculars or a telescope to spot this one, according to NASA. Keep an eye out for an object that looks like a fuzzy star.

“In the first couple of weeks of December, comet Leonard can be found in the east before sunrise, passing between Arcturus and the handle of the Big Dipper,” the agency shared in a post. “It approaches the horizon right around the time of its closest approach to Earth, meaning it’ll likely be brighter but more challenging to observe. It then switches over to being an evening object after around Dec. 14, for just a little while after the sun sets — as it begins its long haul outward from the sun again, progressively fading in brightness.”

As comets near the sun, these giant ice balls begin to shed some of their material, forming a halo, or coma, around the object. Dust and gas stream behind comets to form their extremely long tails. Most comets originate from the icy edge of our solar system and only become visible to us as they travel through the inner solar system, where Earth is located, during their long orbits of the sun.

It’s possible that comet Leonard will be visible to skywatchers looking with the naked eye, but if you’re worried about missing this once-in-a-lifetime viewing experience, The Virtual Telescope Project will be sharing a livestream from its observatory in Rome.

In July comet Neowise streaked past Earth, providing a stunning nighttime show:

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