How to see Comet Lemmon

Comet Lemmon orbits the Sun roughly once every 1300 years. Photo Credit: Brennan Gilmore/AP via the Telegraph [1]

Right now there is a great opportunity to see a comet for yourself here in the UK, but it will only be visible for a short time.

Comet C/2025 A6, also known as Comet Lemmon, reached its closest point to Earth today, the 21st October. While it will remain in the night sky for some weeks, over time it is moving further away from us and gets closer to the horizon, so will become fainter and harder to spot.

Comet Lemmon is currently near the bright star Arcturus, in the constellation Boötes, which is in the north-western sky after sunset. This means the comet is only visible for a couple of hours after sunset, and is relatively low in the sky, so for good viewing it's important to get to a location with a good view of the northwest shortly after sunset.

Under a dark sky the comet might be discernible to the naked eye, but to get the best results you'll need binoculars or a telescope.

The below video explains where to look for the comet. [2]

Credit/Useful links:

[1] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/21/see-rare-green-comet-before-vanishes-1300-years/

[2] https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/video-how-and-when-see-comet-lemmon

[3] https://www.cometwatch.co.uk/how-to-see-comet-lemmon-c-2025-a6-in-october-2025/