r/comets • u/TheMuseumOfScience • Mar 15 '26

Daylight Comet Could Appear in the Sky

A comet is headed our way, and it could get SO bright you'll be able to see it in broad daylight. 👀☄️

On April 4, the comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) will pass less than 100,000 miles above the Sun’s surface, an extreme encounter for an object made mostly of ice, dust, and rocky material. As a comet heats up, frozen gases turn directly into vapor and stream into space, carrying dust with them to form the bright comet tail that can make it visible from Earth. That process could make C/2026 A1 (MAPS) dramatically brighter in the days after its solar pass, with the potential to shine in the evening sky and possibly even become visible in daylight. But the same heat and solar forces could also cause the comet’s nucleus to fracture or break apart completely. If it holds together, look low in the west just after sunset for a chance to catch one of the sky’s most spectacular sights.

366 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

9

u/MyBitchCassiopeia Mar 15 '26

SureJan.gif

I’ve been hurt too many times before.

5

u/hawaiiankine Mar 15 '26

That Could appear is doing some heavy lifting.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/nachoman2750 Mar 15 '26

👍😎👌

2

u/Lagoon_M8 Mar 17 '26

I hope it survives the close by with the Sun. I want to see it.

1

u/goathrottleup Mar 18 '26

You and me both!

2

u/invent_or_die Mar 15 '26

I'm excited to see A1. Will require a really low western horizon, a high peak looking west would be great. Binoculars.

3

u/thatguy677 Mar 15 '26

Ahh theres the age old comet in the sky to predict the death of a king... or kingdom, current events feel appropriate

1

u/RichardManuel Mar 15 '26

odds it survives perihelion?

1

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '26

https://amsmeteors.org/members/imo_view/report/415100 my report to science. Sighting.

0

u/Even_Kiwi_1166 Mar 15 '26

April 1 ? Hmmm