Story at a glance
- Comet C/2021 A1 or Comet Leonard, also being called the “Christmas Comet,” is brightening the sky this holiday season.
- The “Christmas Comet” will continue to be visible throughout the United States through the rest of the year.
- Experts are encouraging people to search for it in the night sky soon, as it will continue to become dimmer as the end of December nears and the comet won’t pass Earth again for another 80,000 years.
Trees and homes aren’t the only things that will be lighting up this holiday season — so will the sky.
Comet C/2021 A1 or Comet Leonard, also being called the “Christmas Comet,” was detected earlier this year and was at its closest distance from Earth on Dec. 12. The “Christmas Comet” will continue to be visible throughout the United States through the rest of the year.
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However, experts are encouraging people to search for it in the night sky soon, as it will continue to become dimmer as the end of December nears and the comet won’t pass Earth again for another 80,000 years.
“This comet should be visible with a backyard telescope or binoculars,” Gordon Johnston, a program executive at NASA Headquarters, told Accuweather, “and may be visible to the naked eye under very clear and dark observing conditions.”
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