Just make sure to protect your night vision, she says. Print-out sky maps are also handy, as long as you can keep them dry.
To find your way around, Lavender recommends using astronomy software such as Starry Night, or night sky mobile apps such as Star Walk 2. Luckily, go-to technology in telescopes will often do much of the wayfinding for you, but experienced amateur astronomers still say it's worth it to learn your way around the sky. To a beginner, the night sky may feel like a cacophony of places to go, making it difficult to focus. This sky map shows the path of Comet Leonard in the night sky in December 2021. Cameras can also enhance comet colors with filters: "That's why you'll often see comets that are green or blue in photographs." How do you find Comet Leonard in the night sky? The human eye, she noted, is different than a camera, whose sensor is much more sensitive to light. "While there are a few notable exceptions, such as Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997 and, quite recently, Comet NEOWISE - both of which could be seen with the unaided eye - comets can appear as white-grey blobs with little-to-no tail," she continued. "It's very easy to think that you'll see a comet as they appear in magazines, books and in images online - with a bright coma and two, solid tails," Lavender told.
When you first turn your eyes to Comet Leonard, don't expect to see the same view as the Hubble Space Telescope or other large observatories, which often use tools such as time-lapse photography and (quite obviously) have light-gathering capabilities out of reach of the amateur community. View Deal (opens in new tab) What will Comet Leonard look like?