Although past its best, comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) is now finally visible to those in the northern hemisphere. The comet has already put on a better than predicted show for southern and tropical observers and for a short time was easily visible to the naked eye as it moved through the far southern constellations. When viewed through binoculars and telescopes it was a superb sight, appearing greenish with a bright coma and wispy thin extended tail.

Lemmon then swung around the Sun at the end of March before reappearing in the April morning sky. By the start of May, the comet had moved sufficiently north to also be seen from northern temperate latitudes. Its current northern path is almost parallel to the zero hour line of right ascension and as a result, visibility will improve on a daily basis for northern hemisphere observers. Southern hemisphere watchers can still observer the comet low down about the horizon for some time still, however it won't appear very high above the horizon.

Comet Lemmon's path against the background stars may seem a little familiar; PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) the other bright comet of 2013, followed an almost identical path earlier this year.

On May 1st, Lemmon was at magnitude 7.2 and within binocular reach. During May it will fade gradually as it recedes from the inner solar system, ending the month at about magnitude 9.4. You should be able to follow the comet with 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars during May, although towards the end of the month it will be increasingly more difficult. A telescope makes the task much easier.

The comet is visible towards the east before sunrise. First locate the four stars that form the "Great Square of Pegasus". The comet is positioned on the eastern side of the square. On May 9th, Lemmon is just over 1 degree east of southeastern square star Algenib (γ Peg - mag. 2.8). It then crawls up the eastern side of the square, reaching the top on May 27th. On this date, it's about 3 degrees east of the northeastern square star Alpheratz (α And - mag. 2.1).

Finder Chart for Comet Lemmon from May 4 to May 28, 2013 - pdf format

Comet Lemmon

Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) Data Table (data shown at 0:00 UT)

See also

Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) now fading but remains visible through small telescopes in the June morning sky
Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) returns to the morning sky for observers located at southern hemisphere and tropical latitudes
Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) temporarily unobservable as it moves from the evening to morning sky
Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) closes in on maximum brightness
Naked eye Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) moves past 47 Tuc and SMC
Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) now naked eye and continues to improve
Comet Lemmon (C/2012 F6) brightens faster than expected