We’ve enjoyed Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6)! It’s been the best comet of 2025, so far. And it has favored Northern Hemisphere observers. Comet Lemmon is still just at the edge of visibility with the unaided eye from a dark-sky site. This week, it’s been competing with the brightest moon of 2025. But you can still see it with the aid of binoculars.
The comet was closest to Earth on October 21, 2025. And Comet Lemmon will reach its closest point to the sun on November 8. At perihelion, the comet will be about half Earth’s distance from the sun, or about 49 million miles (79 million km) from our local star.
It’s in our western sky after sunset … a smudge with the eye alone, but great with optical aid or in photos!
How to see Comet Lemmon
Comet Lemmon spent much of October near the Big Dipper, a fact that helped some people find it. But the comet has moved progressively southward away from the Big Dipper. In early November, it’s located in front of the large dim constellation Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer. The comet got as bright as about magnitude 4, which made it a good target even for beginning observers. Now it has faded a bit. It’s still within the limit for observing with the unaided eye. But – even at its brightest – it never struck the eye with the brightness of a 4th-magnitude star. That’s because stars appear as pinpoints, while a comet’s brightness is spread out across a wider surface area.
Here’s one way to find Comet Lemmon: use the photo app on your phone.
Go outside and face west (the sunset direction) as soon as the sky gets truly dark. Don’t wait too late, or the comet will set below your horizon.
Hold your phone’s camera up toward the western sky and snap some pics. Get some landmarks, like treetops, into the scene.
Look for the comet as a smudge in your photos. Afterwards, use your landmarks to try to see it with the eye. Or, better yet, view it with binoculars.
Here’s a chart showing the comet’s location on the sky’s dome in the west after sunset for November 8-16. November 8 is the day the comet comes closest to the sun.
Here’s Comet Lemmon in the west after sunset for November 8 through November 16, 2025. November 8 is the day it comes closest to our sun. The comet is currently in front of the constellation Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer. After being closest to the sun, Comet Lemmon will begin to fade as it moves away from the inner part of our solar system. Image via Bob King. Thank you, Bob!EarthSky’s Kelly Kizer Whitt took this image of Comet Lemmon with her smartphone on October 24, 2025.
Other comets in the sky now
Comet Lemmon is just one of a number of comets currently in our sky. The most famous is probably the interstellar comet, 3I/ATLAS, which was closest to the sun in late October.
Another comet that recently came upon the scene is Comet SWAN. But for that one you’ll definitely need optical aid.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Smithfield, Virginia, captured Comet Lemmon on October 2, 2025. Steven wrote: “C/2025 A6 (Lemmon), as it approaches perihelion on November 8, 2025. I was easily able to see the head in my Celestron 15×70 SkyMaster Pro binoculars.” Thank you, Steven!
History of Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon
Astronomers using the 60-inch (1.5-meter) telescope at Mt. Lemmon, Arizona, discovered this comet back on January 3, 2025. There are also precovery images of the comet in PanSTARRS data from as early as November 12, 2024. The term precovery is one that astronomers use to mean pre-discovery recovery. So the comet was on images earlier than those in which it was discovered. But they did not realize it was there until they went back and looked for it. Using these extended data, astronomers have been able to calculate its orbit. And it has an orbit that takes it about 1,350 years to circle the sun once.
Images of Comet Lemmon from the EarthSky community
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | EarthSky’s Raúl Cortés captured this image of Comet Lemmon on November 6, 2025, from Monterrey, Mexico. Raúl wrote: “During full moon supermoon days the moon glare did not help to capture Comet Lemmon. Last night, November 6, the later moonrise allowed me to take this photo of the comet.” Thank you, Raúl!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Eliot Herman in Tucson, Arizona, captured this view of Comet Lemmon near the star cluster Messier 12. Eliot wrote: “Full moon just after dark is a wet blanket for comet photography but the comet was near M10 and M12 tonight with M12 shown.” M12 is a globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus. Thank you, Eliot!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Cecille Kennedy in Depoe Bay, Oregon, captured Comet Lemmon under the Big Dipper on October 14, 2025. Thank you, Cecille!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Craig Patterson captured this image of Comet Lemmon on October 10, 2025, from Lubbock, Texas. Thank you, Craig!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Stéphane Picard captured Comet C/2025 A6 from Quispamsis, New Brunswick, Canada, on October 4, 2025. Stéphane wrote: “Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon is hanging near the Big Dipper in the early morning hours before sunrise. Although not visible to the unaided eye yet, it may become visible later this month. It is currently heading inward toward our sun at a speed of almost 60 km/s (134,200 mph).” Thank you, Stéphane!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mario Rana in Hampton, Virginia, caught the comet on October 4, 2025. Thank you, Mario.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Petr Horálek in Prosec u Sece, Czech Republic, captured Comet Lemmon on October 1, 2025. Petr wrote: “The beautiful comet is now located in Ursa Major and starts to be circumpolar from northern mid-latitudes. My observation was truly dramatic, as the approaching fog made the view and photography increasingly challenging. Eventually, here is the result, showing a truly significant ion tail of the comet, visible even in small binoculars. Small, but lovely comet, indeed!” Thank you, Petr!
More images
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | David Hoskin in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, captured Comet A6 Lemmon on September 29, 2025. David wrote: “The comet continues to brighten and may, from a dark site, become visible to the unaided eye by late October.” Thank you, David!Eliot Herman captured Comet A6 Lemmon using a remote iTelescope on September 29, 2025. Thank you, Eliot!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | John Chumack in Yellow Springs, Ohio, captured Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6) along with some satellite trails on September 27, 2025. John wrote: “Early Saturday morning I had to wait an hour longer just for it to clear the trees in the northeast. I was finally able to image it around 6:00 a.m., with dawn rising fast, and the satellite traffic was crazy.” Thank you, John!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Tameem Altameemi in the United Arab Emirates captured Comet Lemmon on September 19, 2025. Tameem wrote: “This non-periodic comet is currently shining at magnitude +8, making it a fine telescopic target. In the image, you can see the bright nucleus at the core, the surrounding coma of gas and dust, and a faint dust tail stretching away from the sun. Unlike periodic comets that return on a regular cycle, C/2025 A6 follows a very elongated orbit and may not return for thousands of years, if ever.” Thank you, Tameem!
Bottom line: Comet Lemmon reaches its closest point to the sun on November 8. It’s the best comet of 2025. You can still see it! A finder chart and some great images of it here.
Kelly Kizer Whitt - EarthSky’s nature and travel vlogger on YouTube - writes and edits some of the most fascinating stories at EarthSky.org. She's been writing about science, with a focus on astronomy, for decades. She began her career at Astronomy Magazine and made regular contributions to other outlets, including AstronomyToday and the Sierra Club. She has nine published books, including a children's picture book, Solar System Forecast, and a young adult dystopian novel, A Different Sky.
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