It’s been about a year since a binocular-bright comet last graced our skies. That was Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, and it made a splash at dusk in October. Although it had to compete with the moon, the comet’s bright head and smoky tail were plainly visible without optical aid. Since then, however, we’ve seen zilch.

Enter Comet Lemmon. Discovered last January, it’s been drawing closer to the sun and Earth and slowly brightening. I caught it in binoculars from a dark, country sky in late September as it crawled across the faint constellation Lynx before dawn.

The comet is even brighter this month and currently tracking about 10 degrees (one fist) below the Big Dipper’s handle. It’s also moved from the morning into the early evening sky. On Oct. 13 the dusty blob crosses into the small constellation

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