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(Image credit: Courtesy of Gregory Leonard/Catalina Sky Survey) Comet C/2021 A1 — a.k.a. Comet Leonard — is on a last dash through our solar system before disappearing a little later in 2022. The comet has been a dazzling sight in binoculars or telescopes, appearing with a twisted tail and if you have a great camera, a green … Read more
New York-based director Michael Krivicka is a guy whose expertise in creating award-winning tie-in prank videos for corporate clients has become legendary over the last few years. Having already produced hilarious urban stunts for Netflix’s “Sweet Tooth,” Sony’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” Warner Bros.’ “Geostorm,” Digital Extreme’s “Warframe,” and Fox’s “The X-Files,” the filmmaker and his crew … Read more
The creator of Netflix’s popular satire-comedy movie “Don’t Look Up” recently spoke with a climate scientist about how the movie contributes to the conversation about global warming. The interview, exclusively released to Space.com, is a 24-minute audio conversation between filmmaker Adam McKay and Kate Marvel, an associate research scientist at both Columbia University and the … Read more
Halley’s Comet is arguably the most famous comet in history. As a “periodic” comet, it returns to Earth’s vicinity about every 75 years, making it possible for a person to see it twice in their lifetime. It was last here in 1986, and it is projected to return in 2061. The comet, officially called 1P/Halley, … Read more
Comet Leonard is falling out of view, but not without putting on one last show. Discovered just a year ago, the comet, formally known as Comet C/2021 A1, made its closest approach to Earth on Dec. 12, marking the climax of a month full of prime observing opportunities. As the comet has continued on its … Read more
The brightest comet in the night sky right now makes its closest approach to the sun Monday (Jan. 3) and — even if it survives the journey — that will be the only time the comet sees our star close up. That icy wanderer is Comet Leonard, which got brighter unexpectedly in late December as … Read more
Since early this year, skywatchers on Earth have been tracking Comet Leonard, a kilometer-wide dirty snowball made of ice, rock, and dust. Now, as it heads towards a close encounter with the Sun on 3 January 2022, several spacecraft – with the distinct advantage of having an unobstructed front-row seat to the action – have … Read more
A small space telescope launched by a Chinese space resources company captured an epic shot of the brightest comet of the year on the backdrop of an aurora and passing meteors. Yangwang 1, a small satellite belonging to Chinese space resources company Origin Space, took the image while Comet Leonard was making its closest approach … Read more
Discovered nearly a year ago, Comet Leonard is on its final tour of Earth’s neighborhood, lighting up the night sky for viewers this holiday season. Comet Leonard — the brightest and most anticipated comet of the year — was discovered by Gregory Leonard, a senior research specialist at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary … Read more
NASA’s STEREO-A satellite caught this view of Comet Leonard as it continued to streak into the inner solar system last week. STEREO-A captured the warming comet as it cast off a gassy shroud and spiked in brightness. Named for Gregory Leonard, an astronomer at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory who discovered the … Read more