Passing of Comet “Lemon” and Timing and Conditions of Observation
In October 2025, the night sky holds a beautiful surprise for observation enthusiasts, as the comet “C/2025 A6” or simply comet “Lemon” is currently passing by Earth, where you can see it with a telescope and magnifying binoculars, and perhaps even with the naked eye if sufficiently dark conditions are available.
On January 3, 2025, astronomer David Fuls observed it during the Mount Lemmon Survey program in Arizona, USA.
It initially appeared as a faint object with an apparent magnitude of +21, a faint point barely captured by digital cameras dedicated to observing near-Earth objects.
However, follow-up images quickly revealed a dust envelope surrounding it, revealing that it was not just an asteroid, but an active comet emitting gases and dust as it approached the sun’s heat.
An Old Guest
Orbital calculations showed that “Lemon” is coming from very deep within the solar system, perhaps from the Oort cloud, the vast cosmic reservoir of comets located in the background of the solar system.
Its orbit is a highly elongated ellipse, with a return time exceeding a thousand years, meaning that this visit is unique to our current generation.
The comet will approach the sun to a distance of about half an astronomical unit (i.e., slightly closer than Earth’s orbit) on November 8, 2025, after passing close to Earth on October 21, which is its closest point to Earth and the best opportunity to observe it.
The comet’s brightness in late September was about magnitude 5.9-6 (close to the limit of naked eye visibility in a dark sky, and easier through binoculars), with a beautiful dust tail in the images.
The green color captured in the images is due to the glow of diatomic carbon and other gases when illuminated and excited near the sun.
How Do I See It?
This comet appears in the sky in the evening after sunset during October 2025, in the southern to southwestern direction of the horizon.
Starting from October 18, the comet moved from near the star “Cor Caroli” in the Canes Venatici constellation, towards the Boötes constellation, where it is currently passing through approximately the middle of it, which is the best position to observe the comet with magnifying binoculars and telescopes, as well as to take pictures.
In this case, the comet’s brightness will decrease to about 5.5, making it easier to see with the naked eye as well, in a dark sky (e.g., the desert or outside the city in general), in which case the comet will appear as a very faint cloud.
After that, the comet heads towards the Serpens constellation, reaching it by October 26, and then passes into the Ophiuchus constellation.
Guests of Earth
It doesn’t stop at Lemon only, as Earth – at a safe distance – is hosting a group of comets that will pass close to it in less than a year from now:
* Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS), will be at its closest point to Earth on November 24-25, 2025.
* Comet 3I/ATLAS, the third object from outside the solar system, will be in the closest position to Earth on December 18-19, 2025.
* Comet 24P/Schaumasse, will be at its closest point to Earth on January 4, 2026.
* Comet C/2024 E1 (Zurbriggen), will be at its closest point to Earth on February 17, 2026.
Some of these comets will be at a point where they can be seen through simple to medium telescopes, and some will be further away and require specialized astronomical observatories. Scientists are working to study these objects, as they represent pure fossils that provide features of the ancient history of the solar system.
source: 961 today
