C2019 U6 (Lemmon)

Comet C/2019 U6 (Lemmon)

Discovered by the robotic Mt Lemmon Survey operating on Mt Lemmon, Arizona, on October 31 2019. Subsequently, the comet's orbit was determined to be elliptical (just) with an orbital period in the region of 10000 years; perihelion occurred on June 18, 2019 (0.91 AU), with closest approach to Earth (0.82 AU) on June 29, 2019. It reached naked eye visibility (under very dark skies) in late June 2019.

	2020 June 4: photographed against the stars of Puppis from the light-polluted skies of Melbourne, Australia, when about magnitude 6.5. Canon 5D II + 500mm lens (f8), on an NEQ6 Pro mount tracking the sky. Six minutes of 15 sec exposures stacked and combined to optimise the comet and the star field; field of view ~4.0°x2.8°, north is to the lower right. Background balanced to remove the effects of light pollution. The ion tail is directed towards the top left of the frame.
	2020 June 10: photographed against the stars of Monoceros from the light-polluted skies of Melbourne, Australia, when about magnitude 6.2. Canon 5D II + 500mm lens and 1.4X extender (f8), on an NEQ6 Pro mount tracking the sky. Twenty six minutes of 30 sec exposures stacked and combined to optimise the comet and the star field; field of view ~2.0°x1.4°, north is to the lower right. Background balanced to remove the effects of light pollution. The ion tail is directed towards the top left of the frame.
	2020 June 23: photographed against the stars of Hydra when about magnitude 6. Alphard (a Hydrae) is the bright orange star below the comet. Canon 5D II + 500mm lens and 1.4X extender (f5.6), on an NEQ6 Pro mount tracking the sky. Six minutes of 120 sec exposures stacked and combined to optimise the comet and the star field; field of view 3.0°x2.0°, north is to the right. The ion tail is about 1° long and directed towards the top left of the frame.