Bengaluru witnesses rare green comet streaking across the sky; internet can’t stop watching

A hazy green comet, officially named C/2025 A6 (Lemon), was briefly visible on the western horizon of Bengaluru on Saturday evening.

Many people in the city shared photos of the comet on social media, showing its bright green coma and misty dusty tail that could be seen for several minutes before disappearing below the horizon.

“I’m so happy to see a comet in the sky of Bengaluru today,” one user tweeted, while another said, “I saw something in the sky this morning. #बेंगलुरू #नममबेंगलूर.”

Comet Lemon was first detected in January 2025 by astronomers at the Mount Lemon Observatory in Arizona, USA. It gradually brightens as it approaches the Sun and can be seen with binoculars in the Northern Hemisphere. However, its brightness fluctuates as jets of gas and dust are ejected from its surface due to solar heat, a process called outgassing.

Astrophotographer Deepak Choudhary, founder of astronomy support platform thegreatbeyond.in, took photos of the comet from the roof of the Co-evolve high-rise building in Bengaluru using the William Optics Zenithstar 61 Refractor Telescope. The images showed a green coma and a small, hazy dust tail visible shortly before the comet dropped below the horizon.

The comet’s green glow is not due to reflection but rather to the fluorescence of diatomic carbon (C₂) when exposed to ultraviolet sunlight. Experts told The Hindu that this gas is present only in coma and breaks down quickly, leaving the tail almost colorless.

Choudhary said it was difficult to photograph the comet from a city with high light pollution. “The time it took to capture the photo was only a few minutes before it fell too far away. Urban astrophotography requires more precision than location,” he told the publication.

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