How do you see Comet Leonard or “Christmas Comet” from Nicaragua? Keep these recommendations in mind

Comet Leonard, or as some media have called it a “Christmas comet”, can be seen with the naked eye almost anywhere in the world. Between 12 and 14 of Dec, which is the time when it will be at its closest to Earth and will be best appreciated.

This event will be unique, because, according to scientists, Leonard is a comet with a long orbit that lasts approx. 80,000 years to go around the sun.

But, can it be seen in Nicaragua? According to Jorge Luna, an astronomy fan and member of the Silos Nicas group, Leonard would not make the same show he did. comet neowise Last year, as it will be less bright and smaller, but he noted that it can be seen in the country.

“Yes, it can be seen from all over the country as long as you have a flat eastern horizon, and there are no obstructions like mountains and trees,” Luna explained.

Read also: Leonard: How and when can you see a comet with the naked eye

Recommendations

Luna said the best time to see Leonard would be before sunrise, although he stressed that it wouldn’t be a great show because at least some binoculars would be needed to be able to appreciate the comet well.

“We shouldn’t expect a great show from this because in fact the comet won’t be great, we should take it into account so as not to be disappointed. And how can we search for it? With binoculars it’s even better, with the naked eye it would be hard to imagine.”

In addition, he recommended digital applications to be able to determine where a comet has passed. “It will be more or less by a constellation called El Boyero. There are apps that help you find the constellations, point the phone and show you where they are.”

Among the applications are Stellarium, Skyportal or Celestial Map for Android and help a person find constellations.

Origin

Leonard was discovered on January 3 this year by astronomer Gregory J. Leonard, who was reviewing a series of images taken by the Mount Lemon Observatory telescope at the University of Arizona in the United States, and reports on the mediator Infobae, which refers to data from NASA. .

At first, Leonard looked like a strange haze that didn’t appear in the records but they later learned that the spot was an unknown comet approaching the sun and they classified it as c/2021a1 Leonard.

According to Infobae, Leonard passed in front of the Sun for the last time 80,000 years ago and “has since wandered through space in a long cycle that will culminate in January ‘of 2022”. 35,000 years ago, the comet resumed its way back to the star but once it reached, it would be left Our solar system will never come back again.”