Uncommon inexperienced comet to fly over Bay Area, not return for over 1,000 years

A newly found comet is about to make its closest go to Earth on Tuesday evening. It needs to be seen over the Bay Area earlier than it disappears — and received’t be seen once more for greater than a thousand years. 

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) is called after the Mount Lemmon Survey close to Tucson, Arizona, the place it was first recognized by scientists on Jan. 3. Though it was joined within the evening sky by one other “cosmic snowball” known as Comet SWAN on Monday, that comet is predicted to develop dimmer as the times go by. Meanwhile, consultants are calling Comet Lemmon the perfect and brightest comet to view from Earth this 12 months.

To see it, head to a darkish location as far-off from metropolis lights as potential about 45 minutes to an hour after sundown, Gerald McKeegan, an adjunct astronomer at Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, informed SFGATE in an e-mail. It ought to briefly seem low within the western sky, about 55 million miles away from Earth. Though it might be seen to the bare eye, you’ll have a significantly better likelihood of seeing it utilizing binoculars, he mentioned.

“Unfortunately for stargazers, we are expecting clouds to return tomorrow night as onshore flow increases,” Roger Gass, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s Bay Area workplace, informed SFGATE on Monday. 

The excellent news is you’ll have loads of alternatives to attempt once more. Comet Lemmon needs to be round by way of Nov. 3 and grow to be barely brighter round Oct. 26 or 27 because it makes its elliptical orbit across the Sun, McKeegan mentioned. 

After that, it received’t return to the inside photo voltaic system for “at least 1,300 years,” he mentioned. “This will be the only chance to see this comet.” 

Similar to the inexperienced comet that surprised native stargazers again in 2023, Lemmon’s shamrock-colored hue comes from the distinctive breakdown of various kinds of ice that make up its physique. As it nears the solar, that ice modifications from a stable to a gasoline.

“Depending on the composition of the ices in the comet, that gas can appear green,” he mentioned. “It is also common to see comets that appear blue or white, with occasional hints of other colors.”

While you’re trying up, you may catch a glimpse of Saturn — search for the intense star within the southeastern sky round 8:30 p.m., and when you’ve got a pair of binoculars helpful, chances are you’ll even see its rings. The Orionid meteor bathe can also be anticipated to succeed in its peak on Tuesday evening, however don’t anticipate an excessive amount of of a present — it solely produces about 20 meteors per hour, McKeegan mentioned.