Comet Lulin (official designation C/2007 N3 (Lulin)) is a non-periodic comet. It was discovered by Ye Quanzhi and Lin Chi-Sheng from Lulin Observatory. It peaked in brightness and arrived at perigee for observers on Earth on February 24, 2009, at magnitude +5, and at 0.411 AU from Earth. The comet was near conjunction with Saturn on February 23, and passed near Regulus in the constellation of Leo on February 26 and 27, 2009. The comet became visible to the naked eye from dark-sky sites around February 7. According to NASA, Comet Lulin's green color comes from a combination of gases that make up its local atmosphere, primarily cyanogen and diatomic carbon, which both appear as a green glow when illuminated by sunlight in the vacuum of space.
