Is the next ‘Great Comet’ coming? C/2026 A1 (MAPS) could be visible during the day
A new comet was recently discovered that will be making an extremely close flyby of the Sun, which if it survives could make it visible during the day.
Getting to see a comet is a mystical sight. These celestial objects have enchanted stargazers since time immortal. Unfortunately, they aren’t always visible to the naked eye and even more rarely during daylight.
Those wanting to catch a glimpse of one without wandering out into the night may just get a chance in the coming months. Astronomers have spotted one that could be the next “Great Comet” speeding toward the inner Solar System.
Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) was detected by group of French amateur astronomers at the Atacama Observatory in Chile on 13 January. It was determined that C/2026 A1 (MAPS) is part of the Kreutz family of ‘sungrazing’ comets, which are believed to all have come from one massive comet that broke up after an extremely close flyby of the Sun perhaps over two thousand years ago.
Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) could be visible during the day
Like other members of the Kreutz comet family, C/2026 A1 (MAPS) is moving along an extreme, highly elongated orbit around the Sun. It is expected to pass within between 120,000 and 500,000 kilometers of our star’s surface, much closer to the Sun than Mercury is, in early April.
It’s proximity to the Sun as it flies around it may turn it into the next “Great Comet” for us to observe. But it must first survive its close encounter with the Sun.
The massive ball of ice, dust, and gas, which is calculated to be roughly 1.5 miles across (2.4 kilometers), could easily be torn apart before heading back out to the outer Solar System. That’s because it will experience gravitation pressure as it reaches a speed of over 2 million mph, notes Live Science, not to mention “high temperatures, and a hefty dose of solar radiation.”
If it is successful, it could become an extremely bright object in the sky, several times more than a full moon. Scientists predict that it could be visible to the naked eye in broad daylight.
A new comet, designated C/2026 A1 (MAPS), was recently discovered. It belongs to a class called Kreutz “sungrazer” comets, which follow extremely close paths past the Sun. Some members of this group in the past have become extraordinarily bright when they survived their close… pic.twitter.com/Hp0gfpr9YX
— Stuff Working Good (@HowItWorksBlips) February 10, 2026
So stay tuned. C/2026 A1 (MAPS) is expected to make its closest approach to the Sun around 4 April, 2026.
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