The main spotlight in Astrophotography is currently going to the Comet C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS.
Comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) is a rare visitor from the distant reaches of the Solar System, discovered by the Pan-STARRS sky survey in Hawaii. Like many long-period comets, it likely originates from the Oort Cloud, taking tens of thousands—if not millions—of years to complete a single journey around the Sun. What makes this apparition special is its unpredictability: comets like this can brighten beautifully, fragment, or fade into obscurity just as quickly. If C/2025 R3 performs well, it offers a fleeting opportunity to witness a truly ancient object shedding material for the first—and possibly last—time in recorded history. Miss it now, and there’s a very real chance it won’t return within any human timescale… or at all.
The conditions to capture it from the Netherlands are quite tricky however. It only rises above the horizon early in the morning, around 90 minutes before Sunrise. This gives me a VERY short window of opportunity to capture it. By the time it clears the horizon and objects like surrounding houses, trees, etc… we are getting very close to Sunrise.
Hence I have not been able to capture it in its full glory, with a long tail or high details. The best I could do so far is a limited 6 minutes capture.
Nevertheless, happy to have it on file!
I may give it another shot over the coming nights, but as the Comet is approaching perihelion, it’s gonna be tricky.
“This week is likely my last good chance to capture Comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) from the Northern Hemisphere. Although it reaches perihelion on April 19 and may brighten a little more, each passing morning it sinks deeper into the Sun’s glare, making the imaging window shorter and more difficult. In other words: the comet may still brighten, but the chance to photograph it cleanly is fading fast.”
To endless exploration, starry nights, and a little bit of cosmic nerdiness!
TTG
