Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard)

Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) is currently in the constellation of Pictor, at a distance of 755,083,557 kilometers from Earth.

The current Right Ascension of Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) is 05h 14m 42s and the Declination is -50° 43’ 48” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom). The current estimated magnitude of Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) is 24.90 (JPL).

The observed values of Magnitude, Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted Magnitude as a directional indication. We acknowledge with thanks the comet observations from the COBS Comet Observation Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this table to report recent comet observations.

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Additional Resources

• Position and finder charts (see also Where is Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard)?)
• Distance from Earth (see also How far is Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) from Earth?)
• When does Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) rise and set?
• Brightness (see also How bright is Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard)?)
• Orbital elements. Detailed information about Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) orbital parameters.
• Interactive orbit visualization. 3d visualization showing the orbit of Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) with respect to the major Solar System objects.
• 15 days ephemerides. Table showing celestial coordinates and magnitude of Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) for the past and next 7 days.
• Interactive sky chart. An online planetarium application that shows where to locate Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) in the sky from your location.
• Live position tracker. A high precision sky chart that uses real deep sky imagery to help locate Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) with your telescope or on your astrophotographies.

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) from Earth is currently 755,083,557 kilometers, equivalent to 5.047422 Astronomical Units. Light takes 41 minutes and 58.6876 seconds to travel from Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of C/2023 A1 (Leonard) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) to Earth

Between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) to Earth happens on Thu Mar 2 2023 at a distance of 1.186987 Astronomical Units, or 177,570,761 kilometers:

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard), according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

Visualization of Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!

Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Comet C/2023 A1 (Leonard) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2024 Apr 25	05h 10m 32s	-51° 14’ 22”	24.81	Pictor
2024 Apr 26	05h 11m 05s	-51° 09’ 37”	24.82	Pictor
2024 Apr 27	05h 11m 39s	-51° 04’ 59”	24.83	Pictor
2024 Apr 28	05h 12m 15s	-51° 00’ 30”	24.85	Pictor
2024 Apr 29	05h 12m 51s	-50° 56’ 12”	24.86	Pictor
2024 Apr 30	05h 13m 27s	-50° 52’ 00”	24.87	Pictor
2024 May 01	05h 14m 03s	-50° 47’ 59”	24.88	Pictor
2024 May 02	05h 14m 39s	-50° 44’ 07”	24.90	Pictor
2024 May 03	05h 15m 17s	-50° 40’ 23”	24.91	Pictor
2024 May 04	05h 15m 56s	-50° 36’ 47”	24.92	Pictor
2024 May 05	05h 16m 35s	-50° 33’ 23”	24.93	Pictor
2024 May 06	05h 17m 13s	-50° 30’ 06”	24.94	Pictor
2024 May 07	05h 17m 53s	-50° 26’ 57”	24.96	Pictor
2024 May 08	05h 18m 33s	-50° 23’ 59”	24.97	Pictor