The space object, cataloged as C / 2021 AI, was discovered by astronomer Gregory J. Leonard on January 3 at the Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona, according to the Daily Mail. The comet was then described as "extremely faint", a 16th magnitude object. Its brightness was about 160,000 times fainter than that of the faintest stars visible with the naked eye. However, as it approaches the Sun, the comet becomes brighter, and when it reaches Earth's orbit by the end of the year, it will have a magnitude of 4-5.
Comet Leonard is now between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It will be closest to Earth on December 12, when the distance will be reduced to about 35 million kilometers. Astronomers speculate that on this day, the comet can be seen with the naked eye, although it will only be visible low on the horizon at sunrise. The best view of the comet is through binoculars, small telescopes, and a high-exposure camera.
Now Leonard's Comet is already showing signs of a tail - the result of the fact that when it approaches the inner part of the solar system, it begins to heat up. As soon as the comet passes the Sun, it will be thrown out of the solar system and will never be visible from Earth again. Astronomers estimate that the comet spent about 35,000 years approaching Earth from about 520 billion kilometers away.