Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard)

Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) was a long period comet that was discovered by G. J. Leonard at the Mount Lemmon Observatory on 3 January 2021. Although the first reports of it being a naked eye object were around the start of Dec 2021, it wasn’t easily visible in NZ skies until around the 18th Dec. Over the subsequent few weeks it gained altitude giving more opportunity for imaging after dusk.

From Wikipedia: ‘The ion tail of the comet appeared complex, with knots and steamers. The comet's discoverer called the tails "some of the best ever observed". In stacked photos the tail could be traced for 60 degrees in the sky. While the comet was lower in the sky, atmospheric extinction offset much of the brightening. As of 22 December 2021, the comet was around apparent magnitude 4, making it a good binocular comet for the Southern hemisphere. It was the brightest comet of 2021. One more outburst took place after perihelion, on 6–8 January 2022, when the comet brightened by 1.5 magnitudes.’

Made on New Year’s Day 2022, this image is a two-panel mosaic acquired using my regular Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera attached to my TOA 130. I shot 2 minute subframes for as long as I could before the comet disappeared below the horizon, totalling only around 50 minutes. Processing was difficult due to the very strong light gradient across both panels.

Successive nights were then blighted by poor weather, then moonlight - meanwhile the comet was fading fast. I was lucky to capture the tail of this comet at its knotty best!