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Forbes
08-04-2025
- Science
- Forbes
New Comet Discovered — Here's When And Where To See It
A newly discovered comet has been spotted in the night sky. Tentatively called comet SWAN25F, it's currently visible in binoculars and is expected to reach its brightest on May 1, 2025. Found in late March, comet SWAN25F has significantly increased in brightness, but it's not visible to the naked eye. Only those with telescopes and large binoculars (around 10x50mm) can observe it now. Now 8th magnitude, it can be found during twilight above the northeastern horizon an hour before sunrise only from the Northern Hemisphere. It's just below Scheat, one of the bright corner stars of the Great Square of Pegasus. Virtual planetarium stargazing app Star Walk can be used to find it. It should be visible from the Northern Hemisphere until mid-April, when it moves into the constellation Andromeda, according to Stargazing. After that, it will be lost in twilight as it approaches the sun. Comet SWAN25F will reach perihelion — the closest it gets to the sun — on May 1, 2025. After that date, it will emerge into the post-sunset evening night sky, but it will only be seen from the Southern Hemisphere. After perihelion, it's expected to reach 5th magnitude — the limit for human vision, but good for watching through binoculars. 'The comet shows a nice ion tail, with fine structures,' wrote Gianluna Masi, an astronomer at The Virtual Telescope Project, who imaged the comet on April 8 from Manciano, Italy. Astrophotographer Mike Olason has been posting new images from Tucson, Arizona, while experienced comet imagers Michael Jäger and Gerald Rhemann have also been posting photos from Weißenkirchen, Austria. Comet SWAN25F is not its official designation because its discovery has not been officially announced. While its orbital path is being refined — with the help of amateur astronomers worldwide — it will keep this initial name. Once that work is complete, it will be officially announced and given a new name by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center. Comet SWAN25F was discovered in late March by astronomer Michael Mattiazzo, Australia. Already relatively close to the sun, it was detected in images from the SWAN Instrument aboard NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. The lateness of its discovery is likely due to a sudden outburst and, thus, a spike in its brightness. SOHO, a satellite that studies the sun, was launched almost 30 years ago. One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space. In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's Terms of Service. We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil. Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain: User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in: So, how can you be a power user? Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's Terms of Service.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
New comet SWAN25F is turning heads — and telescopes — toward the morning sky
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The newly discovered comet is already putting on a show for amateur astronomers with telescopes at the ready. Comet SWAN25F, first spotted in data from the SWAN instrument aboard the sun-watching SOHO spacecraft, is now bright enough for amateur astronomers to track and photograph with backyard gear. It's possible that the comet could brighten past 5th magnitude by the end of April, potentially becoming visible to the naked eye under dark skies. Australian amateur Michael Mattiazzo discovered the comet in late March using SWAN imagery, which maps hydrogen in the solar wind according to On April 3, Mike Olason captured stunning images from Tucson, Arizona, when the comet had a magnitude of 10.6. Olason then captured the comet again on April 6 as it brightened to magnitude 8.4, a thin, extended tail is now visible. In Austria, skywatchers Michael Jaeger and Gerald Rhemann photographed SWAN25F's tail stretching more than 2 degrees across the sky. Nick James of the British Astronomical Association told that while it's too early to predict the comet's peak brightness, it's clearly brightening fast. "We need a few more days of observations," he told "but it should at least become a binocular object." Amateur astronomer Pepe Chambó pointed out that the comet's tail shows several jets and breaks in a post on X (translated from Spanish by Google). "It has brightened to magnitude 8.3, visible with binoculars." Chambó wrote. Comet SWAN25F is currently best seen low in the morning sky and views are expected to improve over the coming weeks. If you want to see the comet for yourself you can track its position, check the Minor Planet Center's Possible Comet Confirmation Page and select SWAN25F to generate a custom ephemeris for your location. Note that it is not possible to see the comet with the naked eye at this moment. The object will need to brighten to at least a magnitude of around 6 to be visible without a telescope or binoculars under dark skies.
