Highlights
- Leonard’s comet reached closest to Earth on December 12
- China’s Yangwang 1 telescope captured a wonderful picture of this rare sight
- Leonard passing close to Earth for the first time in 70 thousand years
A Chinese satellite captured an amazing view of Comet Leonard on camera when it was closest to Earth. The comet’s aurora can be clearly seen in the video. It was discovered in January this year, since then it has been moving towards the Earth and the Sun at a speed of about 160,000 miles per hour. This comet is passing near our earth. On December 12, it was closest to Earth in 70,000 years, when this clip was recorded.
This view has been captured by Yangwang 1 which is a small satellite launched by Chinese technology company Origin Space based in Guangdong, China. Yangwang 1 is a commercial space telescope that was launched earlier this year to photograph the universe in ultraviolet light. It is also exploring close-to-Earth asteroids that could possibly one day be mined for resources and brought back to Earth.
Amazing picture taken on 12th December
This spacecraft captured the picture of Comet Leonard on 12 December 2021 amidst a sky full of stars. In this colorful photo shared by OriginSpace, the comet can be seen in the night sky with its long tail. Its tail is visible when it ejects volatile material such as gas and water ice, causing its brightness to change continuously.
1 km wide ball of ice and dust
Comet Leonard will make its closest approach to the Sun after several centuries on January 3, 2022. To capture that event, NASA and ESA have sent their satellites in that direction. This giant ball of ice and dust is about half a mile (about 1 km) wide. Earlier this video was made by NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory Spacecraft (STEREO-A) and the European Space Agency (ESA)’s Solar Orbiter Observatory. STEREO-A has been tracking the green comet since November.
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