Comet Leonard in Motion ᐉ

Just before 2021 Dec 12, the closest approach of Comet Leonard C/2021 A1  to Earth, I tried to document the best comet of the year (although barely visible to unaided eyes). I was able to travel to a small place Ratnari, near Narkanda, in the Himalayas on the 9th & 10th December. The comet rose early mornings and I was able to capture the ‘Puchaltara’ on these two morning using various focal lengths and equipment. I have made a rudimentary, no frills, time lapse movie of my captures. In the first segment of the movie you can see a wide angle view of the comet and the Zodiacal Light. The zodiacal Light turned out to be very prominent at the location. (Shot with a 24 mm lens) The second segment of the movie shows a few snow covered Himalayan peaks of Himachal Pradesh. (Shot with a 200 mm lens). The last segment shows the comet in detail, moving rapidly among the background of stars. All three components are visible – nucleus, coma and the tail, (Shot with Hyperstar on a 14-inch telescope, focal length ~700 mm).