C/2021 A1 (Leonard) 2021-Dec-21 Mike Olason

Another nice clear evening for viewing the comet. The comet was much brighter this evening with Astrometrica calculating magnitudes of G=3.5, 3.4, 3.5 and V=3.8, 3.7, 3.8 at 0123, 0132, 0137UT on 2021 December 21 UT using 10x10s green filter images each time. Since the maximum aperture diameter is 10.6' with this equipment the comet is somewhat brighter than these calculations since the coma was 14' wide and the tail was at least 1 degree long at PA 94 degrees. The comet had a central bright spot with a greenish haze around it in 7x35 binoculars from my very light polluted front yard. I have again attempted to show the structure of the comet coma and tail along with all the colors this comet is showing at an altitude of 6 degrees from the Tucson desert with a color image composed of RGB 6x10s each. The forecast for the next 5 days in Tucson is clouds and some rain, probably my last report for awhile.

Cheers, Mike