October 17, 2025
3 min learn
Learn how to Catch a Uncommon Comet and a Meteor Bathe
A comet seen to the bare eye will make its closest method to Earth on October 21
Astrophotographer Brennan Gilmore captured this {photograph} of Comet Lemmon on October 4, 2025, from central Virginia.
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. Generally known as C/2025 A6 (Lemmon), this celestial wanderer is at present within the western sky after sundown, not removed from the Large Dipper, and is properly 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 for those who miss it this time round, you’re out of luck.
Comet Lemmon shall 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 evening of October 21, so fortunate skywatchers could glimpse just a few taking pictures stars as they gaze on the comet.
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The comet is predicted to be at its brightest from round that date by means of early November. It will likely be closest to the solar (some extent generally known as perihelion) on November 8.
“From town, you most likely received’t see it with the bare eye, however with binoculars it is best to be capable of choose it up,” says Bob King, a contributing editor at Sky & Telescope. “From the nation, when the moon’s not within the sky, you’ll be capable of see it [with the] bare eye. “It’s going to be just a little fuzzy spot, and the binocular view needs to be actually pretty.”
Amanda Montañez; Supply: Stellarium with additions by Bob King (reference)
Even those that aren’t intimately conversant in the constellations ought to be capable of use the Large Dipper, in addition to the brilliant star Arcturus—the brightest star within the western sky right now of yr—to seek out the comet. The wanderer is at present under the “deal with” of the Dipper, and in late October it is going to be above Arcturus, to the left of the Dipper. As a result of the comet shall be pretty low within the sky, the perfect time to see it is going to 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.
Though observing from a rural spot is right, individuals who can’t escape town shouldn’t be delay, says Debra Ceravolo, an astrophotographer who photographs the sky from southern British Columbia. “At the least discover a darkish nook of the yard, someplace shielded from the streetlights,” she says. “Binoculars will certainly assist.”
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 sometimes use a mechanism referred to as a clock drive to compensate for Earth’s rotation and processing methods resembling picture stacking to make celestial objects seem brighter. Even so, individuals taking pictures with nothing greater than their smartphone should still get good outcomes, particularly in the event that they’re in a position to mount their cellphone on a tripod, King says. “At the moment’s smartphone cameras can do lengthy exposures, say, from three to 10 seconds. That needs to be sufficient to select 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 definitely received’t rival comets resembling Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake, which lit up the sky within the Nineteen Nineties. Even so, it is extremely a lot price a glance, Ceravolo says. “I really like comets,” she says. “So every time there’s a great one, I’m there.”
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