Newly discovered comet will zip past Earth on October 20
Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN), discovered just last month by Ukrainian astronomer Vladimir Bezugly, is making its closest pass to Earth on October 20, 2025.
It recently zipped near the sun and will come within about 39 million km of us—pretty close in space terms.
How to spot the comet
You can try spotting Comet SWAN in the evening sky all through October.
It'll be faintly visible to the naked eye under dark skies (around magnitude 6), but binoculars or a small telescope will make things easier.
For a fun challenge, look just after sunset—on October 16, the comet will be about five degrees above the star Xi Serpentis (apps like Stellarium can help you find it).
Why is it shining so bright?
As SWAN got closer to the sun, its icy surface started releasing gas and dust—a process called sublimation—thanks to solar heat and wind.
That's what creates its bright tail, which should be visible during this flyby!