After Oumuamua and Borisov, this is the third object known to be passing through our solar system. It was discovered July 1th, 2025 by the ATLAS facility in Chili.
At that moment the brightness was m18, and it’s speed 61//Second.
Since two weeks I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to image this interstellar visitor.
Last night the sky was clear, so I pointed the C14 towards it’s location in Sagittarius. The low altitude (Declination -17 ), in combination with a high humidity and some vapor trails made the observation quite difficult. With 1 minute or 2 minute exposures, there was no sign, or barely. I could see a shadow moving through the pixels, to have certainty I took 5-minute exposures. Even then, the variability of transparency made it a challenge;
On this frame, taken 00hr46 (Local Summer Time) on July 21th, the very, very dim line of the comet could be detected. As the location is precise, and also the movement between the stars was detectable, I have no doubt this is the object I was looking for.
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