Leonard viewing question

[tripleped]

SkySafari now shows comet Leonard at mag 5.2     Would that be visible with binoculars under Bortle 8 or would I need my 6” or 10” Dob to have any chance of seeing the tail?  Or do I need darker skies no matter which of those I use?

[AstroKeith]

Hi, magnitudes for comets (and some other objects) in planetarium programs should always be taken as a 'guide'. I saw Leonard the other morning and it was about 6, but that is the nucleus and close tail.

The tail will be washed out by your skies, no matter what scope you use (although binos are probably best).

Definitely worth getting to a dark site if you can, in the next couple of days.

Edited December 7, 2021 by AstroKeith

[tripleped]

That’s pretty much what I suspected. Thanks for the advice!

[neil phillips]

30 minutes ago, AstroKeith said:

Hi, magnitudes for comets (and some other objects) in planetarium programs should always be taken as a 'guide'. I saw Leonard the other morning and it was about 6, but that is the nucleus and close tail.

The tail will be washed out by your skies, no matter what scope you use (although binos are probably best).

Definitely worth getting to a dark site if you can, in the next couple of days.

That backs up what i got yesterday from heavily polluted skies