Residents of Bengaluru were treated to a rare celestial sight on Saturday evening when Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6) appeared over the city’s western horizon. Many sky watchers shared photos of a faint green comet that was visible for a short time.
The event offered a special opportunity to see an icy visitor from the outer Solar System. One user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote: “So happy to see a comet in the @ #Bengaluru sky today.”
“I noticed something in the sky this morning. #Bengaluru #NammaBengaluru,” said another post.
Why does a comet glow green?
The comet’s striking green color comes from carbon diatomic (C₂) fluorescence when exposed to ultraviolet sunlight, not reflection. This gas is found only in the comet’s coma—the glowing cloud surrounding its nucleus—and decays quickly, leaving the tail nearly colorless.
Comet Lemmon was first detected by the Mount Lemmon survey on January 3, 2025.
A journey through the solar system
According to NASA, the comet is moving into the inner Solar System and will pass closest to the Sun on Nov. 8 after it approaches Earth on Oct. 21.
“Although the brightness of comets is notoriously difficult to predict, optimistic estimates show that Comet Lemmon will become visible to the naked eye,” NASA said. The agency added that the comet was best seen in the pre-dawn sky until mid-October before it was also visible in the evening.
Beautiful view from Ladakh
Indian astronomer Dorje Angchuk recently captured a breathtaking image of a comet lighting up the night sky over Hanle, a small village in Leh district of Ladakh, as it put on a spectacular show for stargazers.
