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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 11/02/2026

C/2026 A1 (MAPS) on Feb. 10 Details in the image. #CometWatch

Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 18/01/2026

Possible Kreutz #comet 6AC4721 as imaged earlier today (Jan. 18) with iTelescope's 0.51m CDK (T30) at Siding Spring Observatory (Q62). This one might(!) become interesting around April of this year. #cometobs

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 28/12/2025

Interstellar #comet 3I/ATLAS as imaged on December 25th.

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 27/07/2025

Een indrukwekkend plaatje is het niet, maar het lukt al wel met een 8" RC vanuit Dordrecht.

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 09/04/2025

The bright new #comet temporarily named SWAN25F has now been formally designated C/2025 F2 (SWAN) The orbit is perpendicular to the ecliptic (i=90.4°) from north to south. Perihelion will occur on May 1 at 0.33 au from the sun. See MPEC 2025-G102 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025F2 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 06/03/2025

New, but faint #comet confirmed: C/2025 D5 (PANSTARRS) It will reach perihelion in May of this year at 2 au from the sun. See MPEC 2025-E99 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025D5 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 04/03/2025

New #comet confirmed: C/2025 E1 (PANSTARRS) Perihelion will occur in September of 2026 at 4 au from the sun. See MPEC 2025-E58 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025E1 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 28/02/2025

New periodic #comet confirmed: P/2025 D4 (ATLAS) Perihelion was on Feb 14. It currently has an orbital period of 26.6 years. See MPEC 2025-D235 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025D4 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 27/02/2025

New Jupiter-family #comet confirmed. It has an orbital period of 7.9 years. Last perihelion occurred in July of 2024. See MPEC 2025-D211 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025D3 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 25/02/2025

New object on a cometary orbit confirmed: A/2025 A7 It is on a retrograde (i=134°) orbit, reaching perihelion on March 28 at 2.9 au from the sun. See MPEC 2025-D151 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025A7 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 25/02/2025

New periodic #comet confirmed: P/2025 D2 (PANSTARRS) The current orbital elements (based on 13 observations dating back to Feb 4) give perihelion in Jan 2028 at 7.2 au from the sun, and a 29.7 year orbital period. See MPEC 2025-D149 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025D2 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 24/02/2025

New, distant #comet confirmed: C/2025 D1 (Groeller) The comet is on a highly inclined orbit, reaching perihelion in May 2028 at a record distance of 14.1 au from the sun! Pre-discovery observations are dating back to June 2018. See MPEC 2025-D83 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025D1 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 24/02/2025

New returning #comet confirmed: C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) It approaches on a retrograde orbit and may reach mag 10 in October of this year. Perihelion occurs in November. The current orbital elements imply a ~1386 year orbital period. See MPEC 2025-D55 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025A6 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 10/02/2025

New Jupiter-family #comet confirmed: P/2025 C1 (ATLAS) The current orbital elements give it a period of 8.8 years with perihelion on Feb. 4 See MPEC 2025-C158 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025C1 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 10/02/2025

New, distant #comet confirmed: C/2025 B2 (Borisov) It will reach perihelion in September of 2026 at 8.3 au from the sun. It has a highly inclined (91.8°) orbit. See MPEC 2025-C153 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025B2 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 24/01/2025

New, but faint #comet confirmed: C/2025 B1 (PANSTARRS) It will reach perihelion in June of this year at poor elongation. See MPEC 2025-B77 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025B1 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 21/01/2025

Jaarlijks doden, gewonden, trauma's, belaagde hulpdiensten, artsen en politie die er helemaal klaar mee zijn en ook nog eens enorme milieuvervuiling. Voor Yesilgöz reden om het er maar eens "over te hebben". Nou, nou. Gedurfd hoor. #vuurwerkverbod

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 19/01/2025

New Halley-type #comet confirmed: C/2025 A4 (PANSTARRS) It reached perihelion on January 14 at 3.8 au from the sun. The current orbital elements give it an orbital period of 36 years. See MPEC 2025-B11 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025A4 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 16/01/2025

New Halley-type #comet confirmed: C/2025 A3 (Tsuchinshan) The current orbital elements give it a short orbital period of 33 years, a relatively low inclination of 10° and a large perihelion destance of 5.7 au. See MPEC 2025-A178 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025A3 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 11/01/2025

New Jupiter-family comet confirmed: P/2025 A2 (PANSTARRS) Pre-discovery observations date back to 27 Nov 2024. It appears to have approached Jupiter to 0.31 au in Nov 2022, reducing its orbital period by 2 years to 11.5 years. See MPEC 2025-A162 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025A2 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 11/01/2025

An object discovered last August has been redesignated following the confirmation of cometary activity: C/2024 PN7 (PANSTARRS) The #comet has an orbital period of 552 years. Perihelion already occurred on Dec. 6, 2024. See MPEC 2024-A145 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2024PN7 #CometWatch

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 07/01/2025

New object on a cometary orbit confirmed: A/2025 A1 Pre-discovery observations are dating back to October '24. Perihelion will be in March of 2027 at 5.4 au from the sun. See MPEC 2025-A108 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2025A1

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 31/12/2024

New #comet confirmed: C/2024 Y1 (Masek) The current orbital elements by the MPC (based on just 6 days of observations) imply that it is already past perihelion and will be closest to earth (at ~1 au) on January 12. See MPEC 2024-Y250 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2024Y1

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 31/12/2024

New asteroidal object on a cometary orbit confirmed: A/2024 W2 It will reach perihelion this February (2025) at 3.7 au from the sun. See MPEC 2024-Y249 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2024W2

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 31/12/2024

New, distant asteroidal object on a cometary orbit confirmed: A/2024 U2 It will reach perihelion in January o 2026 at 8.2 au from the sun. See MPEC 2024-Y244 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2024U2

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 29/12/2024

New Halley-type #comet confirmed: C/2024 X4 (PANSTARRS) It has an orbital period of almost 32 years and will reach perihelion in September of 2025. See MPEC 2024-Y146 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2024X4

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 29/12/2024

New Jupiter-family #comet confirmed: P/2024 X3 (PANSTARRS) Perihelion was last September. It approached Jupiter to 1.1 AU in September of 2023, which increased its period by almost a year to the current 18.3 years. See MPEC 2024-Y145 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2024X3

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 24/12/2024

New #comet confirmed: C/2024 X2 (ATLAS) The comet is approaching from the south on a highly inclined orbit. It will reach perihelion in July of 2025. The current orbital elements give it a period of 237 years. See MPEC 2024-Y71 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2024X2

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 21/12/2024

New, but faint #comet confirmed: C/2024 X1 (Fazekas) With an orbital period of 29.5 years it classifies as Halley-type comet, but has a low inclination of 6.5º. See MPEC 2024-Y20 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2024X1

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 11/12/2024

New, but faint #comet confirmed: C/2024 W1 (PANSTARRS) It is on a highly inclined (i=83°) orbit with a period of ~287 years. Perihelion will be in March of 2025 at 2.6 au from the sun. It is not expected to become brighter than magnitude 21. See MPEC 2024-X279 and astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2024W1

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 06/12/2024

For anyone who, unlike me, expects a clear dark sky tonight: Titan's shadow will transit across Saturn's disk a few hours from now. This is a rare event that will only be observable a few times in the coming months. Then we'll have to wait again until 2038. See also astro.vanbuitenen.nl/saturn

Simulation of the transit of Titan's shadow across Saturn's disk.

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 24/11/2024

C/2022 E2 (ATLAS) is a dynamically new #comet with a large perihelion distance of 3.7 au. It reached perihelion in September already, but is now within 3 au from earth and will be at its closest on Dec 1st. It is currently brighter than magnitude 13. See also astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comet/2022E2

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 21/11/2024

In case you missed the transit of Titan's shadow this week: the next will be on Dec. 6, and more will occur until October. After that, this will not happen until 2038. Titan is the 2nd largest moon in the solar system, making this event visible in smaller telescopes. See astro.vanbuitenen.nl/saturn

Simulation of Titan's shadow transit on Dec. 6, 2024

Shadow transit event start times for Titan in 2024 and 2025

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 20/11/2024

If you own a telescope and happen to have clear skies right: The shadow of Saturn's moon Titan is currently transiting the planet's disk, as shown in this simulation on my website at astro.vanbuitenen.nl/saturn

Simulation on astro.vanbuitenen.nl of the shadow of Titan transiting Saturn.

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Gideon van Buitenen @vanbuitenen.nl · 20/11/2024

Hello Bluesky! This image of C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) that I took on October 14 seemed like a good choice for my first post on Bluesky. I'm the author of astro.vanbuitenen.nl and will probably be posting mostly about comets.

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