Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon)–October 2025

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Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) from Sedona on 24 October 2025.

I have enjoyed several evenings (and one early morning) viewing and photographing Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon). My first sighting was the morning of 06 October 2025. By mid-October the comet had moved enough that it was visible in the evening sky.

From the Wikipedia entry for the comet:

C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) approached Earth at a distance of 0.60 AU (90 million km; 56 million mi) on 21 October 2025. It reached an apparent magnitude of 3.5 to 4.4 according to different estimates, indicating that it could be visible to the naked eye from sufficiently dark skies. During its closest approach the comet was visible in the sunset sky with a solar elongation of 42 degrees.

Here are some images and time-lapse videos of the comet.

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) in the pre dawn hours on 06 October 2025.
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) in the pre dawn hours on 06 October 2025.

A time-lapse video of the comet on the same morning shows how quickly the comet moves against the background of stars in a period of one hour.

Viewing the comet in the evening was much easier.

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) in the evening hours (85 mm; 18 October 2025).
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) in the evening hours (85 mm; 18 October 2025).

Time-lapse video of the motion of the comet (18 October 2025).

The following night I switched lenses to a medium telephoto (180mm) and was able to resolve a lot of detail in the tail of the comet.

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon ) on 19 October 2025.
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon ) on 19 October 2025.

The next evening I went to Ashurst Lake (southeast of Flagstaff) to try and capture the comet with reflections in the water. This time I shot with a wide angle lens (35mm) to get the evening sky with the lake.

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) and Ashurst Lake. The San Francisco Peaks can be seen to the right.
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) and Ashurst Lake. The San Francisco Peaks can be seen to the right.

A few nights later I was in Sedona and shot this image from the Cultural Park on the west side of town. There was a lot of green airglow present low in the sky. Also, the dome of light in the center of the image is from Las Vegas — 200 miles away.

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) from Sedona. (35 mm; 24 October 2025.
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) from Sedona. (35 mm; 24 October 2025.
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) from Mormon Lake overlook (180 mm, 20 October 2025).
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) from Mormon Lake overlook (180 mm, 20 October 2025).

It was time for the big lens — the Nikon 200–500mm lens at full telephoto. These were taken at Upper Lake Mary. The focus is just a bit soft owing to operator error but it still shows a lot of interesting detail in the tail.

Comet C.2025 A6 (Lemmon) on 30 October 2025.
Comet C.2025 A6 (Lemmon) on 30 October 2025.
A black and white negative image of the comet. This format shows a lot of detail.
A black and white negative image of the comet. This format shows a lot of detail.

The moon is nearly full right now. I’ll wait about a week until the skies are very dark again and shoot more images of the comet before it fades away.

 

 

Wildflower Season Keeps on Going

Earlier I wrote that the wildflower season was coming to an end. To my surprise, it just keeps on going. The September rains were very beneficial and the result is I get to enjoy the flowers for a fews weeks more.

Here  are some wildflower photographs from later September through mid October.

A scarlet bugler (Penstemon centranthifolius) seen on the Weatherford Trail in the San Francisco Peaks.
A scarlet bugler (Penstemon centranthifolius) seen on the Weatherford Trail in the San Francisco Peaks.
Purple and yellow wildflowers on the Weatherford Trail in the San Francisco Peaks.
Purple and yellow wildflowers on the Weatherford Trail in the San Francisco Peaks.
Lupine wildflowers on the Weatherford Trail.
Lupine wildflowers on the Weatherford Trail.
White asters on the Highland Trail south of Flagstaff.
White asters on the Highland Trail south of Flagstaff.
White asters on the Highland Trail south of Flagstaff.
White asters on the Highland Trail south of Flagstaff.
Purple asters on the Highland Trail south of Flagstaff.
Purple asters on the Highland Trail south of Flagstaff.
Lupine flowers on the Humpreys Trail at Arizona Snowbowl.
Lupine flowers on the Humpreys Trail at Arizona Snowbowl.

 

A Visit to Weatherford Trail after the Pipeline Fire

The Weatherford Trail in the San Francisco Peaks has been a popular trail for hikers, mountain bikers (outside the wilderness boundary, of course), equestrians, and trail runners. In the fall, the aspens on the sides of the peaks and especially those in Weatherford Canyon are truly photo worthy.

Start of War Dog Run (walk) on Weatherford Trail.
Start of War Dog Run (walk) on Weatherford Trail.

But in 2022 the Pipeline Fire changed everything. The hillsides were burned leaving only a few lucky surviving trees. The canyon suffered not only the fire but massive flooding in the aftermath. The flooding created 10–20 foot deep gullies on the mountain.

The burned slopes of the San Francisco Peaks quickly come into view on the Weatherford Trail.
The burned slopes of the San Francisco Peaks quickly come into view on the Weatherford Trail.
New growth crowds the Weatherford Trail.
New growth crowds the Weatherford Trail.
It may be early October but there are still many wildflowers.
It may be early October but there are still many wildflowers.
Wildflowers along the Weatherford Trail.
Wildflowers along the Weatherford Trail.
Wildflowers along the Weatherford Trail.
Wildflowers along the Weatherford Trail.
New growth of aspen on the burn scar will result in magnificent displays of fall color in the coming years.
New growth of aspen on the burn scar will result in magnificent displays of fall color in the coming years.

I finally visited a portion of the Weatherford Trail in early October as part of the annual War Dog Run + Walk. The hillsides were covered with the skeleton remains of the trees that burned. But new growth is returning. Once there were stands of ponderosa pine but now there are aspen groves. After just three years these aspen trees stand at five to eight feet tall. And the hillsides are covered in them. Where once a trail traveled through an open forest of ponderosa pine, it now has aspen trees crowding the trail.

A deep gash as the result of flooding on the burn scar.
A deep gash as the result of flooding on the burn scar.

In the years to come these new aspen forests will bring a mountainside of fall color to the south side of the San Francisco Peaks — just as the massive fires in the late 19th century created the magnificent aspen groves in the Inner Basin region.

Stands of aspen trees in the Inner Basin of the San Francisco Peaks are a result of wildfires in the 19th century.
Stands of aspen trees in the Inner Basin of the San Francisco Peaks are a result of wildfires in the 19th century.

Fire is a natural part of the forests here. It is painful when the scar is fresh but, in time, it heals itself.

 

Wildflower Season Coming to an End

Wildflowers have been scarce for most of this summer because of a lack of rainfall. The summer rainy season was a bust but September was much wetter. As a result, we had a late–season burst of wildflowers across northern Arizona and Flagstaff. Shorter days and much cooler nights, however, signal the end is near.

Here are a few photographs from this morning (01Oct2025) along the Highland Trail just south of Flagstaff. I was using a recently purchased used-but-new-to me Sony RX10m4 camera. This has a 24mm–600mm (35mm equivalent) zoom and all of these photographs were shot at the maximum 600mm. (Note: I bought this to replace my old Sony RX10 which has an optical issue but cannot be serviced. “Parts not available.”)

Closeup of a penstomen. Flash fill was used to illuminate the shady side of the flower.
Closeup of a penstomen. Flash fill was used to illuminate the shady side of the flower.
A purple aster.
A purple aster.
A cluster of white asters with a bright background.
A cluster of white asters with a bright background.
A cluster of yellow goldenrod flowers.
A cluster of yellow goldenrod flowers.

And now fall leaf color season begins.

A Quick Visit to Wet Beaver Creek

A few weeks ago we decided to visit Wet Beaver Creek to enjoy a warm day beside the running waters. Rather than hike a few miles up the canyon to the deeper pools we opted to visit the creek near the Beaver Creek Day Use area. It was a weekday and there were only a couple of other visitors. We were able to secure a spot with no one else around (at least until we decided it was time to leave and have lunch). Sitting in the warm sun and then wading into the cool water was refreshing. It won’t be long before autumn weather makes it too cool for this kind of relaxation–but for now it is still an enjoyable way to spend an hour or two. Here are some photos from that morning.

Wet Beaver Creek on a warm September day.
Wet Beaver Creek on a warm September day.
Plenty of shady spots to sit while listening to the flowing water of Wet Beaver Creek.
Plenty of shady spots to sit while listening to the flowing water of Wet Beaver Creek.
Shallow pools of slow-moving water lie on either side of a fast-moving current in Wet Beaver Creek.
Shallow pools of slow-moving water lie on either side of a fast-moving current in Wet Beaver Creek.

Photos shot with a Sony RX100V.