A YOUNG skywatcher has captured a rare, once in a lifetime comet on camera in Somerset.
Josh Dury, an astro photographer, used unique camera techniques to document the scene from the Mendip Hills as Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) streaked through the sky.
C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) was discovered in January, using a telescope from Mount Lemmon in Arizona.
Described by National Geographic as "this year's brightest comet visible on earth", Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) is a rare green double comment, appearing for the first and only time for more than a thousand years.
According to National Geographic, while dozens of comets pass through the inner solar system each year, Comet Lemmon's brightness, distinctive green glow, and proximity to Earth make it "the most striking comet of 2025".
According to National Geographic, the emerald hue is due to the presence of diatomic carbon (C2), a molecule that gets broken down by solar radiation and emits green light.
The light blue tail is made up of two tails: one made of ice and dust from the comet itself, and one made of ions, or energetic particles that are "excited" when the comet "turns on" as it gets closer to the sun's radiation.
According to Rhonda Stroud, director of the Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, Comet Lemmon is "definitely the best comet to view from Earth this year."
The comet is currently brightening in the night sky and can be seen over the UK as it approaches its closest point to Earth on October 21.
This coincides with a new moon, meaning that with the dark sky, faint celestial objects should be easier to see.
Josh said: "I took this last Sunday ahead of anti-cyclonic gloom, mist and fog and was able to confirm it through aurora reports that evening."
Working with challenging dark sky photography, Josh stacked ten images taken at the scene and applied minor contrast and saturation adjustments to reveal faint detail of the comet's extended tail.
The comet, discovered earlier this year by the Mount Lemmon Survey, has surprised astronomers by brightening much faster than expected, reaching a visibility level of about magnitude 4.8 by mid-October, making it accessible with binoculars and potentially to the naked eye from dark, clear skies in the UK.