·

Comet Lemmon greens up in southern hemisphere's nightsky

green-comet-lemon

Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) is visiting  the inner solar system after almost 11,000 years. Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) is visible from the southern hemisphere at distance about 92 million miles (0.99 AU) from Earth. Northern hemisphere observers will get their first good look at the comet in early April. The comet is brightening as it approaches the Sun and currently it is glowing like a 7th magnitude star, which is just below the limit of naked-eye visibility. Light curves suggest that it will reach 2nd or 3rd magnitude in late March when it approaches the Sun at about the same distance as Venus (0.7 AU).

Comet Lemmon captured on December 16, 2012 by Michael Jager (left) and on January 28, 2013 by Rolf Wahl Olsen (right) (Credits: Jager/Olsen)

Jets spewing from the comet's nucleus contain cyanogen and diatomic carbon and Lemmon's green color comes from those gases that make up its coma.

Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) was discovered on March 23, 2012 by A.R. Gibbs from the Mount Lemmon survey in Arizona. Comet Lemmon got elliptical orbit with a period of almost 11,000 years.

Comet Lemmon's finding charts and magnitude graph (Credit: Aerith)
 

JPL Small-Body Database

Feature image: Amateur astronomer Rolf Wahl Olsen captured this picture from his backyard in Auckland, New Zealand on January 28, 2013 (Credit: Rolf Wahl Olsen/SpaceWeather.com)

If you value what we do here, create your ad-free account and support our journalism.

Share:


Your support makes a difference

Dear valued reader,

We hope that our website has been a valuable resource for you.

The reality is that it takes a lot of time, effort, and resources to maintain and grow this website. We rely on the support of readers like you to keep providing high-quality content.

If you have found our website to be helpful, please consider making a contribution to help us continue to bring you the information you need. Your support means the world to us and helps us to keep doing what we love.

Support us by choosing your support level – Silver, Gold or Platinum. Other support options include Patreon pledges and sending us a one-off payment using PayPal.

Thank you for your consideration. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Teo Blašković

$5 /month

  • Ad-free account
  • Clean user interface and fast browsing
  • Direct communication with us via chat and email
  • Suggest new features, content and applications
  • Early access to new apps and features

$50 /year

$10 /month

  • Ad-free account
  • Clean user interface and fast browsing
  • Direct communication with us via chat and email
  • Suggest new features, content and applications
  • Early access to new apps and features

$100 /year

$25 /month

  • Ad-free account
  • Clean user interface and fast browsing
  • Direct communication with us via chat and email
  • Suggest new features, content and applications
  • Early access to new apps and features

$200 /year

You can also support us on Patreon

support us on patreon

or by sending us a one-off payment using PayPal:


Commenting rules and guidelines

We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules:

  • Treat others with kindness and respect.
  • Stay on topic and contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way.
  • Do not use abusive or hateful language.
  • Do not spam or promote unrelated products or services.
  • Do not post any personal information or content that is illegal, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these rules. By commenting on our website, you agree to abide by these guidelines. Thank you for helping to create a positive and welcoming environment for all.

3 Comments

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *