A new comet has appeared in the sky over the past few weeks, but now is the time to see it for yourself.
Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon was discovered by astronomer David Fools on January 3 as part of the Mount Lemmon Survey, a program to detect near-Earth objects.
It passed closest to Earth on Tuesday, when it was visible close to the horizon. However, the comet is now a little higher in the sky and now is a good time to see it.
“Comet Lemmon is now at its best visibility,” Robert Massey, deputy chief executive of the Royal Astronomical Society in London, said in a press release.
And if you miss it now, you'll never see it again: it won't come back for another 1,300 years.
WATCH | Finding Comet Lemmon from Halifax:
Where and when to watch
The comet will be visible in the western sky once it gets dark.
If you look at Ursa Major, the first star in the spoon's handle points to a bright star called Arcturus, which is part of the constellation. Bootes.
Comet Lemmon can be found above and to the left of the unmistakably bright star.
It will continue to move toward the southwestern sky over the next few days and remain at the same altitude.
Although amateur astronomers have provided stunning images of Comet Lemmon, don't expect to see them. Instead, it will appear as a blurry object in the sky.
“It won't look like Hale-Bopp for those who remember it in the late 1990s or even NEOWISE in 2020, it will be a little hard to see with the eyes,” Massey said.
“But, nevertheless, it is a fairly bright comet. The fact that you can easily see it with binoculars makes it quite unusual and I think for that reason alone it's worth going out and enjoying, especially if you've never seen a comet before.”
Over the past month, the comet has brightened significantly and can be seen with the naked eye in fairly dark places. But city dwellers also see it through binoculars.
Friday is a good time to catch it as the Moon is about nine percent illuminated and remains below the horizon. The moon will continue to rise higher in the sky and continue to brighten as it enters its first quarter on Monday.
Comet Lemmon will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere until mid-November, but will begin to dip lower on the southwestern horizon after Sunday.
To find a comet, you can use apps like SkySafari And Stellariumamong others.
