A New Comet Is Streaking Throughout the Morning Sk...

A lately found comet is at the moment gracing our morning skies, with its signature inexperienced glow and lengthy tail trailing behind. Comet SWAN25F is rushing towards the Solar for a dangerously shut method, which could both destroy it or make it seen to the bare eye. Within the meantime, the brilliant comet might be noticed with a telescope or a pair of binoculars because it streaks throughout the sky.

Astronomers discovered the comet in pictures captured by the SWAN instrument aboard NASA’s Solar-watching SOHO spacecraft. On April 8, the Minor Planet Middle designated the comet C/2025 F2 (SWAN), and sky watchers have been keen to identify it. Right here’s how one can get pleasure from a glimmering view of the comet earlier than it reaches its closest method to the Solar through the early days of Might.

New vivid comet SWAN25F
2025-04-06 UT 2.50
LRGB 16/5/5/5 min 11″/2.2 RASA QHY600
Michael Jäger, Gerald Rhemann pic.twitter.com/FJuwRVGMd5

— Michael Jäger (@Komet123Jager) April 6, 2025

The best way to see Comet SWAN

The comet is seen within the morning sky, and might be noticed within the east within the hours simply earlier than the twilight of daybreak begins to take over.

Comet C/2025 F2 is contained in the Nice Sq. of Pegasus, a constellation within the northern sky named after the winged horse in Greek mythology, and it’s transferring towards the Andromeda constellation, in response to EarthSky. With the intention to view the comet, look towards the star Alpha Andromedae, the brightest star of the 4 factors that make up the Nice Sq. in Pegasus. On April 13, the comet will move near the brilliant star.

The comet is at the moment at a magnitude of +8, making it too faint to see with the bare eye. You’ll want a telescope or a pair of binoculars to catch a glimpse. You should definitely get up earlier than morning twilight washes it from view. Regardless of its small measurement, the comet ought to seem as a inexperienced sphere with a faint tail trailing behind.

A race to the Solar

The comet is at the moment racing towards greatness or doom, relying on the result of its shut encounter with the Solar.

Comets are the frozen leftovers from the formation of the photo voltaic system, and are made up of fabric corresponding to mud, rock, and ice. As comets orbit nearer to the Solar, they warmth up and spew gases and mud. That’s the glowing head that we see, which might be bigger than most planets. Then the remaining mud and fuel kind a protracted tail, which stretches away from the Solar for hundreds of thousands of miles, in response to NASA.

When comets method perihelion—the closest level to the Solar—the warmth from the star may cause the comet to utterly disintegrate and disappear from existence. Then again, if comets occur to outlive the perihelion, they will seem a lot brighter within the skies.

Comet C/2025 F2 is on a path towards the Solar, with preliminary estimates suggesting it’ll make its closest method to the Solar on Might 1, in response to EarthSky. The comet will come inside 31 million miles (50 million kilometers) from the Solar, or simply contained in the orbit of the closest planet to the star, Mercury. Throughout perihelion, the comet will likely be at a brightness magnitude between 4.5 to five, however it’ll possible be too near the horizon to see at the moment. If it does survive the heated encounter, it’ll start to seem within the nightfall sky fairly than at daybreak through the first few days of Might. It’s not clear but precisely how a lot brighter will probably be.

That’s excellent news for individuals who aren’t a fan of early morning sky watching classes, so hopefully the comet does survive its rendezvous with our host star. We’re rooting for you, C/2025 F2.