08/05/2026
C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) is a hyperbolic Oort cloud comet, discovered at the Haleakala observatory in Hawaii on 8 September 2025. The Oort cloud is a region about 2 000-200 000 times as far from the sun as the distance to the earth. The duration of the comet’s inbound trip is estimated to have been 170 000 years, while the hyperbolic orbit means that it will most likely be ejected from the solar system, never to be seen again. While it was briefly visible to the naked eye in the Northern hemisphere during April, it is now only visible in the southern hemisphere with the aid of binoculars or a small telescope. This image was taken from the vicinity of Tempe airfield on the evening of 3 May using a Seestar smart telescope.
