Now’s the right time to catch Comet Lemmon within the night sky

There’s been a brand new comet within the sky over the previous few weeks, however now’s the prime time to see it for your self.

Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon was found by astronomer David C. Fuls on Jan. 3 as a part of the Mount Lemmon survey, which is a near-Earth object detection program.

It handed closest to Earth on Tuesday, when it was seen near the horizon. However, the comet has now risen a bit larger within the sky, making now an opportune time to see it.

“Comet Lemmon is pretty much at its best visibility right now,” Robert Massey, deputy govt director of the Royal Astronomical Society in London, mentioned in a launch.

And if you happen to miss out now, you’ll by no means see it once more: it received’t come again for an additional 1,300 years.

WATCH | Finding Comet Lemmon from Halifax:

Where and when to look

The comet may be discovered within the western sky as quickly because it will get darkish.

If you have a look at the Big Dipper, the primary star within the deal with of the “spoon” factors to a brilliant star referred to as Arcturus, which is a part of the constellation Boötes.

Comet Lemmon may be discovered above and to the left of the unmistakably brilliant star.

Over the subsequent few days, it’ll proceed transferring towards the southwestern sky and stay at an analogous altitude.

While novice astronomers have been offering gorgeous pictures of Comet Lemmon, don’t anticipate to see that. Instead, it’ll appear like a fuzzy object within the sky.

“It isn’t going to be like Hale-Bopp was for those who remember it back in the late 1990s, or even NEOWISE in 2020, it’s going to be a little tough to see with the eye,” Massey mentioned.

“But, that said, it’s a reasonably bright comet as they go. The fact that you can see it easily with binoculars makes it fairly unusual, and I think for that reason alone it’s something to go and enjoy, particularly if you’ve never seen a comet before.”

The comet has brightened considerably over the previous month and is seen with the bare eye in moderately darkish places. But folks in cities are additionally seeing it utilizing binoculars.

Friday is an effective time to catch it, because the moon is roughly solely 9 per cent illuminated and stays beneath the horizon. The moon will proceed to rise larger within the sky and proceed to brighten because it enters first quarter by Monday.

Comet Lemmon will likely be seen within the Northern Hemisphere till the center of November, however after Sunday, it’ll start to descend decrease on the southwestern horizon.

In order to seek out the comet, you need to use apps like SkySafari and Stellarium, amongst others.