A Comet in the Magic Hour

The comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) is not an easy target from the Northern Hemisphere. On the morning of April 13, before sunrise, I captured it with a beautiful coma and a long, elegant tail.
After passing perihelion, the comet gradually moved into the evening sky. For observers in the Northern Hemisphere, it could only be found very low above the horizon within roughly an hour after sunset, while the bright twilight almost completely swallowed its faint appearance.
Yesterday evening (May 7), the sky conditions were actually quite poor, with haze and clouds covering the low western horizon. Then, just after 7 p.m., a small patch of blue sky suddenly opened in the southwest! I immediately set up my SeeStar S30 Pro and seized the brief opportunity. At an altitude of only about 5 degrees above the horizon, I finally managed to capture C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) once again.
This time, its greenish coma remained vivid, but the once long and graceful tail had shrunk into a short plume, making it look almost like a completely different comet compared to a month earlier. Yet beneath the soft colors of the magic hour twilight, it still appeared charming and beautiful.
I’m very happy to have recorded the comet’s dramatically different appearances before and after its journey around the Sun. The Sun feels almost like a master designer, constantly giving the comet a new look — from flowing long hair to a neat short haircut — with each appearance bringing a different kind of surprise.

Seestar S30Pro

Comparing two comet photos side-by-side using PhotoCap 6.0