Halley’s Comet. © Wikimedia
A newly discovered comet, named C/2026 A1 (MAPS), is getting astronomers excited and could put on an impressive show in early April.
The comet C/2026 A1 MAPS was discovered on January 13 by four amateur astronomers using a remote telescope in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
Comet MAPS is following a very stretched-out path around the Sun and is heading for an extremely close approach. In early April, it will pass just 120,000 kilometers above the Sun’s surface.
Comet C/2026 A1 MAPS. Credit MAPS 2026
It belongs to a group known as Kreutz sungrazing comets and has already set a record. When it was discovered, it was farther from the Sun than any other sungrazing comet found before.
Leave A Comment