A newly discovered comet, C/2026 A1 MAPS, presents a potentially spectacular, though precarious, astronomical event for early April . Discovered on , the comet’s trajectory will take it incredibly close to the Sun, a maneuver that could result in a brilliant display – or complete disintegration.
The comet was initially designated 6AC4721 before receiving its official name, C/2026 A1 MAPS, an acronym honoring the four astronomers responsible for its discovery: Alain Maury, Georges Attard, Daniel Parrott, and Florian Signoret. The team operates a network of remote telescopes located in the Atacama desert in Chile. This marks the seventh comet discovered by the MAPS team, who also previously identified asteroid 2023 DW, briefly flagged for a potential, albeit slight, Earth impact in .
What initially captured the attention of astronomers was the distance at which C/2026 A1 MAPS was observed from the Sun. At 2.056 Astronomical Units (AU, approximately 307.6 million kilometers) from the Sun in mid-, it represents a record discovery distance for a sungrazing comet. Its faint magnitude of +17.8 at that distance suggests a substantial nucleus, potentially around 2.4 kilometers in diameter.
However, the comet faces a significant challenge: its perihelion – the point of closest approach to the Sun – on . Current estimates place this passage at just 1.18 solar radii, or roughly 160,000 kilometers (99,000 miles) above the Sun’s photosphere. This is well within the solar corona and less than half the distance between the Earth and the Moon. For comparison, comet C/2011 W3 Lovejoy passed only 140,000 kilometers (87,000 miles) above the Sun’s surface during its perihelion on .
The odds of survival are stacked against C/2026 A1 MAPS. While comet Lovejoy did survive a similar close encounter, the intense heat and gravitational forces near the Sun often prove fatal for these celestial visitors. The Sun isn’t stationary; it’s pulled around by the gravity of the planets, particularly Jupiter, resulting in a barycenter that sometimes even lies outside the Sun’s surface. Despite these perturbations, the comet’s perihelion is expected to be extremely close to the Sun.
C/2026 A1 MAPS belongs to the Kreutz Group, a family of comets believed to originate from the fragmentation of a larger comet in 362 BC. Subsequent breakups occurred in 1106 and 1138 AD, with notable members including the Great Comets of 1843, and 1882. More recently, comet C/1965 Ikeya-Seki provided a stunning display in .
Astronomers suspect that more fragments from this stream remain undiscovered, potentially leading to another bright sungrazing comet around . Sungrazers themselves aren’t uncommon; the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has identified over 5,200 since its launch in . However, most of these comets are too faint to be seen without specialized instruments.
Historically, sungrazers have sometimes appeared as “broom stars” or “headless wonders” – fragmented remnants of comets destroyed by their close proximity to the Sun. The fate of C/2026 A1 MAPS remains uncertain, echoing the experience with comet C/2012 S1 ISON, which disintegrated during its perihelion passage in .
Currently located in the southern constellation Fornax, the comet is expected to move through Eridanus in late and Cetus in before reaching its closest approach to the Sun in Pisces in early . It is predicted to reach a magnitude of around +10 in late , potentially becoming visible with binoculars. Venus will serve as a helpful guide for locating the comet in the western sky.
If it survives its solar encounter, C/2026 A1 MAPS will make its closest approach to Earth on , at a distance of 0.129 AU. Peak magnitude predictions vary, but some estimates suggest it could reach as bright as magnitude -7, potentially making it visible even during the day for dedicated observers.
For those unable to observe the comet directly, the SOHO observatory offers the best viewing opportunity. C/2026 A1 MAPS is expected to enter SOHO’s LASCO C3 field of view around 20:50 UT on , and its LASCO C2 inner view around 01:51 UT on . The comet will briefly disappear behind the Sun from Earth’s perspective around 11:50 UT on , reappearing approximately 90 minutes later.
Should it survive, C/2026 A1 MAPS will continue its journey out of the solar system, reaching a distant aphelion of 220 AU sometime in the 32nd century. Other comets currently of interest include C/2024 E1 Wierzchoś, currently visible with binoculars, and C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS, which will reach perihelion on .
While the likelihood of C/2026 A1 MAPS surviving its close encounter with the Sun appears low, the possibility of a bright sungrazer display in remains. Only time will tell if this comet will add its name to the list of spectacular, yet fleeting, celestial events.
