A newly found comet called C/2025 R2 (SWAN), or SWAN R2 for short, was discovered on September 12, 2025 by a Ukrainian amateur astronomer named Vladimir Bezugly. He spotted it while looking through images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. The space rock was first called SWAN25B, but three days later, the International Astronomical Union officially named it a comet.

This comet takes a very long time to go around the sun —  about 22,554 years. Its tail is huge, stretching about as wide as five full moons lined up.

Where, when, how can one see it?

Right now, you can see SWAN R2 with binoculars near Mars in the western sky after sunset, especially if you're in the Southern Hemisphere. But things will get more exciting on October 21, when the comet will be much closer to Earth; only 0.27 astronomical units (AU) away. 

When it gets that close, the comet might become bright enough to see with just your eyes, even in the Northern Hemisphere, as long as you're somewhere with dark skies. There's even a chance Earth might pass through some debris from the comet around October 4-6, which could create its own meteor shower.

The second comet

Here's where it gets really interesting: another comet called C/2025 A6 (Lemmon), which was found earlier this year in Arizona, will also get closest to Earth on the exact same day, October 21. This second comet might also get bright enough to see without binoculars and will be visible in both morning and evening skies.

Best time to witness both

The best time to see both comets will be October 20-23, when they're closest to us. October 21 is also a new moon, so the sky will be extra dark without moonlight getting in the way. This timing lines up perfectly with the peak of the Orionid meteor shower on October 20-21, when you can expect to see about 20 shooting stars per hour, according to a report by Live Science. 

If both comets survive their trip close to the sun and get as bright as scientists think they will, skywatchers could see two bright comets and meteors all in the same dark sky. A pretty rare treat!