Comet Leonard, or C/2021 A1, photographed on 3 January 2022. Comets are collections of dust and ice that orbit the Sun. As they near the Sun and are warmed they release gas (outgassing) that forms the tail. This photo was taken as the comet was closest to the Sun. It had been approaching the Sun for around 40,000 years, and following this orbit will permanently exit the solar system due to the change to its trajectory.