--- title: "Unfortunate Comet Flies Too Close to the Sun, Disintegrates and Becomes a Ghost" description: "Comet Leonard flew a little too close to the Sun and likely broke into a million pieces during its closest approach." date: "2022-03-24" modified: "2022-03-24" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/comet-leonard-close-sun-disintegrated" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "Comets" - "ESA" - "NASA" - "space" --- # Unfortunate Comet Flies Too Close to the Sun, Disintegrates and Becomes a Ghost ![Comet Leonard flew a little too close to the Sun and likely broke into a million pieces during its closest approach.]() *\Image: Getty Images\* A much beloved comet flew a little too close to the Sun and appears to have disintegrated during its closest approach — an apt metaphor, and appropriate end, for the space snowball. The comet, dubbed Leonard, was first discovered on January 3 of last year by a senior research specialist at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory named Gregory Leonard. At the time, it was as far away as Jupiter, [*EarthSky* reports](), and wasn't particularly noteworthy until later that year, when amateur astronomers started suggesting in November that it might be starting to disintegrate. But Leonard didn't appear to disintegrate until making its closest approach to the Sun in January of this year. Astronomers watched as Leonard kept fading, in a decisive end to an exciting year-long comet chase. In February, it was a mere ghost of what it once was, as seen in [images]() taken by the Slooh robotic telescope in Chile. In fact, according to Leonard, a "ghost" has now become an apt metaphor for the dust and gas that likely remains in its place. "As for the comet’s possible demise, I don’t mind the fact that it may have disintegrated," he told *EarthSky*. "With its post-perihelion hyperbolic orbit, I once imagined the comet sometime in the deep future haunting another solar system. Now with its nucleus possibly disintegrated, it may more strangely appear as a ghostly, hyperbolic wisp of dust and gas, if that." The paths of comets like Leonard are still very hard to predict. Volatile surface material gets expelled as their cores are warmed by the Sun, causing them to move erratically. Comet Leonard was particularly odd, featuring an unusually triangular shaped head, while also seemingly veering way off its predicted course, according to *EarthSky*. During its travels, the mile-across ice chunk came tantalizingly close to us, well inside the Earth's orbit, allowing some experts to see it unaided glinting in the night sky, showing off its impressive tail. Speaking of its tail, NASA and the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter managed to fly right through it — [twice](). "It was an utterly surreal experience having a much-anticipated comet sailing dimly overhead for most of 2021," Leonard [told *EarthSky*](), "and I was thrilled when it began brightening and tracking across the autumn and winter skies, and of course bearing my family’s name as it was." In the end, the encounter could teach us about the very early days of our solar system. "Comets are literally older than dirt and speak to important questions of deep time and our very origins," Leonard told *EarthSky*. "And of course, comets are full of surprises, reminding us that we humans are not in control," he added. **READ MORE:** [Comet Leonard has disintegrated]() \[*EarthSky*\] **More on the comet:** *[NASA Spacecraft Flies Through Tail of Comet]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()