As Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) heads further eastwards over the next two weeks, it will start getting lower in the eastern sky in the early hours of the morning before dawn.
But it is bright enough to be viewed in binoculars or a small telescope at the moment.
It MIGHT even become bright enough to be seen with the naked eye (fingers crossed!).
The Comet passes the bright globular Messier 3 between the 2nd & 4th of December.
I have included details of that here:
https://www.star-gazing.co.uk/WebPage/leonard-passes-m3
My video about the prospects of the comet is posted on YouTube:
The maps created using Sky Safari below show the path of the comet until the 12th of December.
I hope that they help you to find the comet.
1st – 7th of December:
7th – 12th of December:
Looks like we’re going to get clear skies on the morning of the 7th December, (tomorrow) so I’d better set my alarm clock, and find a decent viewing spot. (oh, and pack the dew-busters!)
This may seem like a silly question, but i’m sure it would be sillier not to ask…if i set my camera on a tracker (Star Adventurer mini) set to siderial tracking, to keep the stars “stationary”, will the Comet blur? Ive seen pictures of star trails with a “static” comet, but dont know what the timelength of the star trails were taken. I’m thinking of doing a multiple of 60sec exposure at 100mm with my Canon 6DMkii?
Hi Andy. 60 second exposures should be OK. But if you wanted to stack the images, you’ll need to stack on the comet position. Deep Sky Stacker allows you to do that.