Comet shines above the aurora seen from space

China's Yangwang 1 satellite captured the moment when comet Leonard approached Earth at its closest distance on December 12.

Comet Leonard approached Earth on December 12, captured by the Yangwang 1 satellite.

The color-processed image shows comet Leonard, also known as C/2021 A1, prominently displayed with a green extension in the center of the frame. The scene looks even more spectacular when it is adorned by the bright aurora lights below and the starry sky in the background. To the left of the comet, there is also a small bright streak of meteor.

In this image taken by the Yangwang 1 satellite on December 12, Leonard is 0.233 astronomical units (AU) from Earth, or 34.9 million km. By January 3 next year, it will come closest to the Sun (perihelion) at a distance of 0.6151 AU, or 92 million km.

Leonard was discovered only on January 3 of this year, exactly one year before perihelion. At that time, it was 5 AU from the Sun, or 750 million km. This beautiful comet has a retrograde orbit with a period of up to 80,000 years, meaning that it will be 80,000 years before we see the object approaching the Sun again.

The Yangwang-1 satellite, which was launched earlier this year, is a small Chinese space telescope that observes the universe around our planet in visible light and ultraviolet light. , to search for near-Earth asteroids with potential for resource extraction.

The satellite operated by the company Origin Space is the first step in an ambitious plan to conquer a small asteroid by 2025.