Astronomers from the Solar Astronomy Laboratory of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences have announced that Comet Lemmon (its full name is C/2025 A6), which was discovered in January of this year, will make its closest approach to Earth on October 21.
On this day, the distance traveled, as reported by a correspondent for the online publication Belnovosti, will be less than 90 million kilometers.
As experts told RIA Novosti, the celestial body is increasing in brightness significantly faster than predicted.
Over the next two weeks, its brightness will increase to fifth magnitude. This means the comet will be visible with ordinary binoculars.
Comet Lemmon is currently flying at a distance of approximately 200 million kilometers from us. It's getting a full 5 million kilometers closer every day.
According to forecasts, by October 3 the distance will decrease to 150 million kilometers, and by the 21st of the same month the comet will reach its minimum distance.
The comet will be at its brightest between late October and early November. Its brightness is expected to range from magnitude 2 to 4, making it visible to the naked eye, without the aid of optics.
The celestial body is currently heading towards the constellation Ursa Major, and its position in the sky shifts by several degrees over the course of a day.
In mid-October it will be easy to spot in the vicinity of this constellation.
And at the end of October, when its brightness is at its maximum, Comet Lemmon will move into the region of the constellations Serpens and Ophiuchus and will be clearly visible in the evenings, immediately after sunset.
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