The luminosity of Comet “Lemmon” has increased significantly since its discovery on January 3, which raises hope that it will become stunningly visible with the naked eye during this month as it approaches the closest point to the sun in its 1,350-year orbit on November 8, a point known as “perihelion.”

Astrophotographer Brennan Gilmore’s image shows a stunning view of the comet‘s glowing green coma as it passes near the bright star TW Leonis Minoris in the constellation Leo Minor on October 4. A long, luminous tail extends away from the comet’s nucleus, as the materials emanating from it reflect nearby sunlight.

The comet’s tail is constantly exposed to the influence of the stream of charged particles emanating from the Sun, known as the “solar wind.” As a result, the tail always forms in the opposite direction to the Sun, regardless of the direction of movement of the comet itself, like the exhaust trail of an airplane.

Gilmore released a stunning 60-minute time snapshot showing a massive section of the comet’s tail being torn apart by solar winds on October 2, during a dramatic breakaway event. The images were captured using an advanced Takahashi Epsilon 130D Newtonian telescope with the ZWO specialized astronomy camera from the observing site in Simont, Virginia.

Comet “Lemmon” is still getting brighter, as some observations published in the comet observation database managed by the Crni Vrh Observatory in Slovenia indicate that its brightness reached +5.1, which makes it detectable as a very faint object with the naked eye in areas with dark skies free of light pollution.

For those interested in observing this rare astronomical phenomenon, experts advise preparing in the coming weeks, as the comet is expected to increase in brightness as it approaches the Earth and the sun, making it an ideal target for monitoring and astronomical photography before it begins its long journey out of the reach of observers.

Source: Space