Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) August 19, 2025Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) August 19, 2025
Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) on August 19, 2025 from suburban Bloomington, Indiana
1 hour total exposure
GSO 8" f/8 RC Astrograph CF
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro cooled color CMOS camera, IDAS DTD filter 30x60sec., gain 300, 15x120sec., gain 200, bin 2 -6ºC
ZWO EAF autofocuser
Losmandy GM811G mount
Auto-guided, Askar off-axis guider, ZWO ASI174MM Mini guide camera
ZWO ASIAir Plus controller
Processed in Astro Pixel Processor, Lightroom, Photoshop It may not look like it but this is the brightest comet in the sky right now. Known as C/2025 K1 (ATLAS), it's a primordial visitor from the distant Solar System. It is expected to brighten in the next few months, but not so bright it will be visible to naked eyes. As faint as it is, I was quite surprised to be able to get images of this from my suburban (light polluted) location.

Technical details:
Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) on August 19, 2025 from suburban Bloomington, Indiana
1 hour total exposure
GSO 8" f/8 RC Astrograph CF
ZWO ASI2600MC Pro cooled color CMOS camera, IDAS DTD filter 30x60sec., gain 300, 15x120sec., gain 200, bin 2 -6ºC
ZWO EAF autofocuser
Losmandy GM811G mount
Auto-guided, Askar off-axis guider, ZWO ASI174MM Mini guide camera
ZWO ASIAir Plus controller
Processed in Astro Pixel Processor, Lightroom, Photoshop