May SkyGuide with Dr. Ian Musgrave – Comet C/2025 R3 & Citizen Science | Astrophiz 233
Astronomy Astrophiz PodcastShow Notes
Welcome to Astrophiz Episode 233
This month, we are joined by Dr. Ian Musgrave for the May Sky Guide. We explore the planetary alignments, the upcoming Eta Aquariid meteor showers, and how you can track Comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS). Plus, we dive into the fascinating world of sun-grazing comets and how you can get involved in citizen science.
In this episode:
Planetary Watch: Venus and Jupiter dominating the evening; Saturn and Mars rising in the morning.
Moon Phases: Full Moon details, the "Blue Moon" on May 31st, and the occultation of Antares.
Meteor Showers: What to expect from the Eta Aquariids (and how to watch them away from the Moon).
Comet Hunting: Tracking Comet C/2025 R3 (PANSTARRS) and finding "sun-grazers" via SOHO and STEREO spacecraft imagery.
Citizen Science: Tips on how to hunt for comets using online archives.
Upcoming: Join us on May 15th as we speak with Dr. Jacob Parrott from the ESA Space Research and Technology Centre about the Mother's Day solar storm and Mars' atmosphere.
Support Independent Science: Astrophiz is free, ad-free, and unsponsored. For full transcripts, show notes, and celestial charts, please visit: https://astrophiz.com
#Astrophiz #Astronomy #Stargazing #SciencePodcast #MaySkyGuide #IanMusgrave #CitizenScience #Space #CometHunting #AstronomyPodcast
More from Astronomy Astrophiz Podcast
What are gravitational waves, and could primordial black holes be dark matter? Astrophysicist Laura Byrne (University of Auckland) explains how the LISA space mission could detect them. Astrophiz podcast Episode 244.
Dr Ian 'Astroblog' Musgrave returns with your October 2026 Sky Guide for Australian skies, including Saturn at opposition (October 4), Mars crossing the Beehive Cluster (M44), the Orionid meteor shower, a daylight Lunar X on the 18th, and the occultation of Elnath (Beta Tauri) on October 29–30.
Is dark matter finally showing itself? In this episode of Astrophiz, Dr Sophia Gad-Nasr — particle cosmologist, science communicator, and creator of @AstropartiGirl — returns for her second appearance on the show (her first was Episode 90, back in 2019) to unpack the tantalising 2.6-sigma signal detected by the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) dark matter experiment, buried deep underground in South Dakota.
Dr Ian 'Astroblog' Musgrave returns with your essential guide to the September night sky — Venus at its greatest brilliancy (mag -4.5), the Moon's occultation of Antares, and Mercury lining up with Venus and Spica at dusk.
Trevor Barry — the Outback Astronomer — is a world-renowned planetary imager whose backyard observatory in Broken Hill, NSW, produces scientific-grade Jupiter and Saturn data used by NASA. In this episode of Astrophiz, host Brendan O'Brien travels to the outback to sit down with Trevor at his custom-built observatory.