How to See Comet Lemmon and the Orionids Meteor Shower Peak

How to Catch a Rare Comet and a Meteor Shower

By Dan Falk edited by Clara Moskowitz

A comet found earlier this yr, now simply vibrant sufficient to be seen to the bare eye, is poised to be among the many high celestial occasions of 2025. Known as C/2025 A6 (Lemmon), this celestial wanderer is presently within the western sky after sundown, not removed from the Big Dipper, and is nicely positioned for viewing because the sky will get darkish.

Astronomers found the comet in January as a part of the Mount Lemmon Survey in Arizona and calculated that it’s on a 1,350-year orbit across the solar—so in case you miss it this time round, you’re out of luck.

Comet Lemmon will likely be closest to Earth on October 21, when it passes inside 55 million miles (89 million kilometers) of our planet. Conveniently, that is additionally the date of the brand new moon, that means the sky will lack moonlight, making it simpler to spy fainter objects. By coincidence, the Orionid meteor bathe additionally peaks on the night time of October 21, so fortunate skywatchers might glimpse just a few taking pictures stars as they gaze on the comet.

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The comet is anticipated to be at its brightest from round that date by means of early November. It will likely be closest to the solar (a degree often called perihelion) on November 8.

“From the city, you probably won’t see it with the naked eye, but with binoculars you should be able to pick it up,” says Bob King, a contributing editor at Sky & Telescope. “From the country, when the moon’s not in the sky, you’ll be able to see it [with the] naked eye. “It’s going to be a little fuzzy spot, and the binocular view should be really lovely.”

Even those that aren’t intimately acquainted with the constellations ought to be capable of use the Big Dipper, in addition to the intense star Arcturus—the brightest star within the western sky at the moment of yr—to seek out the comet. The wanderer is presently beneath the “handle” of the Dipper, and in late October will probably be above Arcturus, to the left of the Dipper. Because the comet will likely be pretty low within the sky, the very best time to see will probably be quickly after nightfall, with the candy spot coming round one hour after sundown. Binoculars could also be essential to view the comet’s wispy tail, which is a results of high-speed particles from the solar pushing gasoline and dirt away from the comet’s nucleus.

Although observing from a rural spot is good, individuals who can’t escape town shouldn’t be postpone, says Debra Ceravolo, an astrophotographer who photos the sky from southern British Columbia. “At least find a dark corner of the backyard, someplace shielded from the streetlights,” she says. “Binoculars will definitely help.”

Skywatchers must also remember that what they see with their eyes won’t ever fairly measure as much as the beautiful images captured by seasoned astrophotographers, who usually use a mechanism known as a clock drive to compensate for Earth’s rotation and processing methods akin to picture stacking to make celestial objects seem brighter. Even so, folks taking pictures with nothing greater than their smartphone should get good outcomes, particularly in the event that they’re capable of mount their telephone on a tripod, King says. “Today’s smartphone cameras can do long exposures, say, from three to 10 seconds. That should be enough to pick it up.”

Comets are famously unpredictable, and though Comet Lemmon is because of get brighter by means of the second half of October, it nearly actually gained’t rival comets akin to Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake, which lit up the sky within the Nineties. Even so, it is extremely a lot value a glance, Ceravolo says. “I love comets,” she says. “So whenever there’s a good one, I’m there.”

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