21/10/2025
We have a new visitor in our solar system. Comet 2025 A6 (Lemmon) was discovered in January this year, and today it makes its closest approach to Earth. Unfortunately for me, in Portugal, the weather is not favourable, with thick clouds and rain yesterday and all this week.
However, I was lucky to capture some images of it 3 weeks ago, on 25 September 2025. I only just got around to processing it. It's a bit more involved than the nebulae and galaxies I'm used to. I managed to get some of the ion tail, and the signature green halo around the nucleus.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see this comet, the next time it swings by our planet will be in about 1000 years. If you have the opportunity (and good weather) to see it, go outside with a pair of binoculars or a telescope and try to find it!
Some acquisition details:
🔭 Askar FRA400 400mm f/5.6 refractor, Sky Watcher Start Adventurer GTI GoTo tracking mount
📷 ZWO ASI585MC Pro cooled astronomy camera
🌌 30 x 120s stacked
Processing done in PixInsight and Adobe Photoshop.