APOD: 2026 April 27 – Comet R3 PanSTARRS Behind Satellite Trails
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Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2026 April 27
Comet R3 PanSTARRS Behind Satellite Trails
Image Credit & Copyright:
Uli Fehr
Explanation:
Can you find the comet?
Somewhere through this web of satellite trails is Comet
C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS), a bright visitor passing
through the inner
Solar System.
Now, the
orbiting satellites themselves only
appear as streaks
because of the long camera exposure,
over 10 minutes in this case.
On the contrary,
to the eye, satellites appear as points that
drift slowly across the night sky and shine by
reflecting sunlight —
primarily just after sunset and before sunrise.
The featured image was taken just before sunrise two weeks ago from
Bavaria,
Germany.
Presently,
Comet R3 PanSTARRS is hard to see for even another reason —
because it is so (angularly) close to the
Sun.
As the comet rounds the Sun, it will be
best seen in coming weeks from
southern hemispheree skies, although then it will be
heading out to interstellar space and fading.
If you haven’t yet found the comet,
don’t despair; please take a
closer look just above the image center.
Tomorrow’s picture: cometary mountains
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Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn
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