C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS

Closest to Sun: 2026 April 19 at 0.50AU
Closest to Earth: 2026 April 26 at 0.49AU
Maximum magnitude 0 on April 25

Image of C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS on 2026 May 5, using a C11 RASA and Canon 6D camera.
10x30second exposures. Field of View 2x3 degrees.

Comet C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS put on a fine performance as it rounded the Sun during April 2026.
It was discovered on 2025 September 8 by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System.
The comet was expected to remain rather faint near its perihelion on 19 April 2026, halfway between Earth and the Sun
and some were speculating that it would even disintegrate. However, the comet appeared much brighter than anticipated
when spotted in March 2026, rising hopes for a good display in early May 2026.
Although the comet's current path is parabolic, meaning it won't return, it originally followed a long-period orbit of about
160,000 years, so this isn't its first trip around the Sun.
Between late March and mid-April, it became visible in the morning skies of the northern hemisphere,
brightening from magnitude 7 to 4, and displaying an ion tail of over 10 degrees in length photographically.

During April, NASA’s PUNCH mission captured the clearest views of the comet.
Designed to study the corona, solar wind, and space weather as a whole system, PUNCH operates under NASA’s Explorers program.
Its advantageous position in Earth’s orbit allows it to avoid twilight interference that ground observers have to contend with.



A PUNCH image of C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS dated 2026 April 21 at 09:20UT showed a magnitude 4 comet
sporting a dust tail 3 degrees long with a faint ion tail stretching beyond 10 degrees.

On 2026 April 22, the comet appeared of magnitude 3 with a 5-degree dust tail.
Note Mars, Mercury and Saturn also visible.


Between April 23 to 26, the comet passed through the SOHO LASCO C3 coronagraph.
You can watch the occasion at: https://soho.nascom.nasa.gov/data/Theater/ selecting C3 imager at 1024 resolution for best results.

The comet peaked at magnitude 0 due to a strong forward scattering geometry and sported a dust tail several degrees long,
trailing behind the head of the comet.

PUNCH image of the comet on 2026April 28, showing a solar wind disturbed ion tail and a dust anti-tail.

My first observation occurred on the evening of April 30, about an hour after sunset, looking directly west.
It appeared at magnitude 4.0 with a visible tail in 15x70mm binoculars at least 2 degrees long, although moonlight and twilight interfered.
Visibility rapidly improved through May 2026.


C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS on 2026 May 3, showing an ion tail > 4 degrees long.
Visual estimate using 8x40mm binoculars = 4.7

By May 4, when moonlight no longer interfered, it had faded to magnitude 4.8 but displayed a visual ion tail > 4 degrees.
Photographically the tail stretched >12 degrees, towards Rigel.(see photo)

The comet was in the vicinity of the Orion Nebula on May 10.

On May 12, I captured the comet some 3 degrees from it, shining at magnitude 6.1

Image of C/2025 R3 PANSTARRS on 2026 May 13

During June 2026, the comet slowly treks south eastwards along the Monoceros-Canis Majoris border,
fading from magnitude 9 to 11 by months end.
On June 1, the magnitude 9 comet was about 7° N of Sirius