Cloudy skies returned on Saturday. 2 May 2026. After sunset on Monday, 4 May, had rain (0.27") and more rain (0.28") before sunrise on Tuesday, 5 May. Tuesday night I tried to observe Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS), but clouds prevented it.

Wednesday night, 6 May, was clear. I was at Oracle State Park, our local International Dark Sky Park, to provide the current "Artist in Residence" Jacob Buttry with an introduction to our dark sky. This is Jacob at the main gate. The second photo was our late twilight sky.

Thursday evening, 7 May, was partly cloudy but the western sky was clear. I decided to try to observe Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS), very low in the western sky. I used 7x50 binoculars but was never able to see it. I was able to photograph it (barely) using a tripod mounted D850 DSLR with a 300mm lens.

2006 MST (f/5.6, 1 second, ISO 3200)

Mouseover or tap on image for pointer to comet

2009 MST (f/5.6, 2 seconds, ISO 3200)


2011 MST (f/5.6, 2 seconds, ISO 5000)

---

Comments are welcome using Email. Please read the Email Etiquette guidance.

---

Previous report

Cassiopeia Observatory Home Page