The comet, which has been traveling towards us for tens of thousands of years, was caught by two spacecraft before it leaves our solar system forever.
"This is the last time we are going to see the comet," Leonard said in a press release on December 13."It's speeding along at escape velocity, 44 miles per second. After its slingshot around the sun, it will be ejected from our solar system, and it may stumble into another star system millions of years from now."
The first spacecraft to spot Comet Leonard as it undertook the final stages of its 40,000 year-long journey from the edge of the solar system to our star wasThe STEREO mission has been observing the comet since November with its SECCHI/HI-2 telescope. After launching in 2006, the spacecraft is tasked with measuring the solar wind and magnetic fields between planets as well as catching images of the sun's corona and heliosphere.
Observations from STEREO were used to build an animation of Comet Leonard that shows changes in the comet's tail, created as radiation from the sun burns off ice and other material from its surface. This animation demonstrates how the comet's tail is becoming longer and brighter as it approaches the sun.
An image showing subtle changes in comet Leonard’s tail over two frames, captured by the HI-2 telescope aboard NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft.
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