In the United States (Washington, D.C.) you will observe from 6:00 in the morning until sunrise.
If you are guided by the constellations, you will be able to find the comet under the Serpent and in the middle of Ophiuchus.
In any case, it may be necessary to use an endoscope.
Of course, a clear sky is required and avoid city lights or lights near where the observation will be made.
you can see: Geminid: Remnants of a huge asteroid reaching Earth
broadcast live
If the climate or where you are located does not allow you to appreciate the comet at its closest point to Earth, you will have the opportunity to watch this astronomical event through the live broadcast of astrophysicist Gianluca Massi, who manages Virtual Telescope Project In Rome, Italy.
Broadcasting is scheduled to begin on 05.15 UTC December 12, 11.15 p.m. (December 11) in Mexico, 12.15 a.m. in Peru and Washington, D.C., 6.15 a.m. in Spain.
Comet Leonard’s Path
The comet will pass close to Earth and Venus before it gets close to the Sun and heads back toward the Oort Cloud, at the edge of the Solar System, and won’t return for 80,000 years.
This image shows its location in our cosmic neighborhood during the early hours of December 12, 2021.
The path of Comet Leonard. Photo: SkyLive
You can review its course every day in this 3D simulator Sky Live .
What is the culprit?
Comets are cold bodies made up mainly of ice, dust, and rock. , which is kept at this temperature because it is located far from the orbits of the planets. Most of them orbit in the Kuiper belt (beyond the orbit of Neptune) and in the Oort cloud (a kind of “shell” that includes our solar system, as NASA points out).
Their orbits indicate long elliptical paths; In the latter case it can be up to 50,000 astronomical units (AU) . One is equivalent to 150 million kilometers or the average distance between the Sun and the Earth.
Due to the sun’s heat, the ice evaporates and forms a luminous halo around the comet. Due to wind pressure and solar radiation, a broad luminous tail develops toward the other side of its flight. This stretch can measure thousands of kilometers.