Photographing Comet Leonard
Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) is passing by the globular star cluster Messier 3 in the Boötes constellation on the night of December 3, 2021.
The alarm blared at 3:30 AM. I was very exhausted, and worn out. I look outside into the darkness and felt the cold air pressing against my face. It took every ounce of willpower for me not to return into the warm house, and go back to the warm bed.
Stumbling out onto the hibernating and frozen grass, I plopped by tripod on the soil. Looking north, I found Polaris and aligned the Sky Guider Pro to the north star. After a few more moments, I had the Nikon D750, the Tameron 600mm lens, and the dew heater all assembeled and ready to roll.
That was the easy part.
Now, I had to try to find this mysterious Comet C/2021 A1. Looking at the Stellarium app on my phone, I could see it was within the constellation of Boötes. I looked east and I could see Arcturus rising above the horizon. Pointing my camera there, I started trying to see if I could make out Comet C/2021 A1 in my camera’s viewfinder. I definitely could not, so I started taking pictures of the area to see if I could find anything in the void of space.
With my camera lens zoomed out to 200mm, I snapped a photo and found the faint fuzz of the comet above Arcturus. I was excited to find the comet! I zoomed in to take a closer look and found a surprise… Messier 3.
My Snapchat of the first image I took revealing the Comet and the globular star cluster. I was so excited!
This was really cool to me! Zooming in on my image preview revealed that Comet Leonard was passing in front of Messier 3!
This image offers a great lesson of perspective, with Comet C/2021 only a few light minutes away. And what about Messier 3? Well, that globular star cluster is located over 35,000 light years away.
But there is more sentimental value that comes from this photograph for me. See, my surname is Leonard. And, the person who discovered this comet was Greg J. Leonard, just a few months earlier on January 3, 2021. Even though I am not related to Greg in any way, I find it cool that this comet took up the same last name that Greg and I share—Leonard.
Top that with the Lord’s blessing and His timing of allowing me to be up to photograph this comet passing by Messier 3 makes this experience, for me, really special.
After getting the camera to click away, I returned to the warm recesses of the house where I could get a quick nap before waking up before work to tear down the equipment. And when I awoke from my slumber, at 6:30 AM, the Comet was hidden away in the daylight.
Psalm 8 says,
When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which You have set in place,
what is man that You are mindful of him,
and the son of man that You care for him?
—Pslam 8:3-4
This verse resonates with me when I consider the ways God blessed me on that cold December morning. He did not have to put a Comet in the sky, but He chose to. He did not have to have Greg Leonard discover the Comet, but He chose to so it would bear the last name we share. He did not have to choose to have it pass in front of Messier 3, but He chose to. And He did not have to give me a clear night, but He chose to. And finally, He did not have to chose to prompt me to photograph this comet on this very night, but He chose to—all as a way to give me a little reminder that the Lord is sovereign over Earth and in heaven.
As we face many different trials and unexpected surprises in life, we need to remember who is in control. Regardless of the outcome of elections, wars, economic trials, or natural disasters—God still reigns. He is sovereign. And we can trust Him.