Discovered in September 2025, the comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) seems to be promising a nice comet of April 2026. I was also lucky to see this beautiful one. Its path nearby the Sun (with perihelion of 19th April 2026) and the Earth then (with perigee on 26th October 2026) brought several truly unusual moments in the sky.
18th April 2026
Castle Comet PanSTARRS
This morning was the last chance to capture the comet from mid-Europe. Since the weather forecast is very pessimistic for the next few days, I took a risk of light pollution and went to teh Brozany in the suburban region of Pardubice city, from where the Kunetic Castle was in view of the comet. Captured from the precisely calculated spot, the comet appeared just in the view of the castle’s tower. A decent ground fog and thin cirrus clouds made the view even more dramatic. I only had about 15 minutes before dawn made the sky too bright, and imaging was no longer possible. Visually, the comet was pretty beautiful as well. In the 15×70 binoculars, the majestic tail was easily visible in the full field of view. Used Nikon Z6III, Tamron 70-200mm@120mm, f2.8, 31x20s (comet), 2x20s (foreground), ISO 1600, tracked on Vixen Polarie U.
A Fireball bombs a Comet – Detail
And there was more. This one is a lucky one from yesterday’s shooting with Kunetic Castle. While my friend Josef Kujal and I, standing just side by side, were taking the first data of the comet’s tail, a bright fireball crossed the sky just in front of the comet, at 2:15 UTC to be exact. captured it. Later, it was confirmed that the fireball was widely observed over Poland. Combining our data, I was able to show the whole lucky moment. Josef captured the meteor at Canon Ra with the same lens like me (Tamron 70-200mm@120mm, f2.8, ISO 3200, 15s). Full credit for the two images above and below this text is Petr Horálek/Institute of Physics in Opava, Josef Kujal/Astronomy Society in Hradec Králové.
A Fireball bombs a Comet
17th April 2026
Comet PanSTARRS at Dawn
Well, there are only last days ahead to spot the comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS before it gets into the daytime sky and then moves into the southern sky. There will also be days (22-26 April) when it will be visible at SOHO LASCO C3 imagery. I was lucky this morning with the comet over calm Seč Lake, Czech Republic, just when the dawn began. The long tail is, of course, a result of the sensitive sensor of the camera; visually, the comet is not as prominent. Used Nikon Z6III, Nikkor 50mm, f1.4, ISO 2000, 6s single shots, MSM Tracker. Tail of the comet was extracted from 27×30 long exposures on Canon Ra, 200mm, f2.8, ISO 1600, tracked on Vixen Polarie U.
Comet PanSTARRS at Dawn – Wide View
12th April 2026
Cloudy, Sometimes a Comet
This morning, I tried my luck by Krásné, Czech Republic, with a beautiful tree in the foreground. The clouds, however, were faster, so the image could not be as I imagined it. Also, the windy weather was trying to repel me. But I didn’t give up. So, hope you will like it despite the clouds. Used Nikon Z6III, Nikkor 50mm, f1.4, ISO 3200, 10s single shot, MSM Tracker. Tail of the comet was extracted from 46×30 long exposures on Canon Ra, 200mm, f2.8, ISO 1600, tracked on Vixen Polarie U.
Cloudy, Sometimes a Comet – Nice Cut
10th April 2026
Lake Comet PanSTARRS – Crop
Lake Comet PanSTARRS
Even this morning I was lucky with the comet PanSTARRS. In this case, it was over the Seč Lake, Czech Republic, just before dawn. The long ion tail gets longer (over 15 degrees). Of course, the comet is beautiful photographically unlike the visual experience as the blue tail is not such bright for naked-eye observation. But all can still change within the next few days. Hopefully. Used Canon Ra, Sigma 50mm, f1.6, ISO 3200, panorama of 8 single 6s exposures, MSM Tracker. Tail of the comet was extracted from 54x15s long exposures, tracked on Vixen Polarie U. Detail image (below) was taken with Nikon Z6III, 200mm, f2.8, ISO 1600, 70x30s long exposures, Nikon Z6III tracked on Vixen Polarie U.
Detail of the comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS on 10 April 2026
9th April 2026
Spring Comet PanSTARRS
This morning I had a perfect view of the comet over Proseč u Chrudimi, Czech Republic, just before dawn. The comet’s tail exceeded 14 degrees in the photographs, making it such a nice object along with the Andromeda Galaxy located on the left. The moonlight made the foreground decently illuminated at the same moment when a “early-bird” driver drove his car onto a nearby road early in the morning. Used Canon Ra, Sigma 50mm, f1.6, ISO 3200, panorama of 8 single 6s exposures, MSM Tracker. Tail of the comet was extracted from 57x15s long exposures, tracked on Vixen Polarie U.
Spring Comet PanSTARRS – Wide View
