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Comets » 

Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon)

Above the horizon.  Circumpolar today
Alt: 10.34°   Az: 1.18°   Direction: North

Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) is in the constellation of Perseus, at a distance of 806,865,310.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 03h 27m 59s and the Declination is +48° 50’ 43” (apparent coordinates). The latest observed magnitude of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) is 16.2 (data provided by COBS).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) in Perseus on February, 10 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) in Perseus on February, 10 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2023 X2 (Lemmon)
RA: 03h 26m 12s
Dec: +48° 45’ 31”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

03h 27m 59s
+48° 50’ 43”
12h 07m 04s
15h 35m 04s

J2000

03h 26m 12s
+48° 45’ 31”

Additional Information

Perseus
16.2
0.2'
n/a
2025-02-01
18.73

The observed values of Magnitude, Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted Magnitude as a directional indication. We acknowledge with thanks the comet observations from the COBS Comet Observation Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this table to report recent comet observations.

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Today Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) is circumpolar and transits at 18:03 UTC reaching a maximum altitude of 87.4°.
  • C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the North direction at an altitude of 10.34° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) from Earth is currently 806,865,310.0 kilometers, equivalent to 5.3935614606 Astronomical Units. Light takes 44m 51.413s to travel from Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) and arrive to us.

806,865,310.0
5.3935614606
44m 51.413s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) to Earth happens on Thu Dec 11 2025 at a distance of 4.685871 Astronomical Units, or 700,996,300 kilometers:

Thu Dec 11 2025
700,996,300
4.685871

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon), according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) at epoch 14 November 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460263.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 1.00026821
Orbit inclination i 76.97216583°
Perihelion distance q 5.10406882 AU
763,557,829 km
Aphelion distance Q n.a.
Semi-major axis a n.a.
Orbital period period n.a.
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2025-Dec-26 04:55:37
2,461,035.7053 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 64.41724499719°
Longitude of the ascending node node 66.312315335703°
Mean anomaly M -0.00028991137994484°
Mean motion n 0.00000038°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon)
View Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2023 X2 (Lemmon) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 03 03h 29m 45s +48° 48’ 26” 18.72 Perseus
2025 Feb 04 03h 29m 27s +48° 48’ 40” 18.72 Perseus
2025 Feb 05 03h 29m 10s +48° 48’ 55” 18.72 Perseus
2025 Feb 06 03h 28m 54s +48° 49’ 12” 18.73 Perseus
2025 Feb 07 03h 28m 39s +48° 49’ 30” 18.73 Perseus
2025 Feb 08 03h 28m 25s +48° 49’ 51” 18.73 Perseus
2025 Feb 09 03h 28m 13s +48° 50’ 12” 18.73 Perseus
2025 Feb 10 03h 28m 02s +48° 50’ 36” 18.73 Perseus
2025 Feb 11 03h 27m 52s +48° 51’ 02” 18.74 Perseus
2025 Feb 12 03h 27m 43s +48° 51’ 29” 18.74 Perseus
2025 Feb 13 03h 27m 36s +48° 51’ 59” 18.74 Perseus
2025 Feb 14 03h 27m 29s +48° 52’ 31” 18.74 Perseus
2025 Feb 15 03h 27m 24s +48° 53’ 06” 18.74 Perseus
2025 Feb 16 03h 27m 19s +48° 53’ 43” 18.75 Perseus

Additional Resources