Desk. A very good news has emerged for those interested in the Universe. Recently, a new comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) has been discovered, due to which a spectacular sight can be seen in the sky in the beginning of April. Let us tell you that this comet will pass very close to the sun and if there is no breakage in it, it can be visible even in daylight. This comet was discovered on January 13, 2026 by a team of 4 amateur astronomers from a remote controlled telescope located in the Atacama Desert, Chile.
These astronomers named Alain Maury, Georges Attard, Daniel Parrott and Florian Signoret made this discovery under the MAPS program. At the time of discovery, the comet was 2.056 AU i.e. about 300 million kilometers away from the Sun, and it has become the comet discovered at the farthest distance from the Sun. Earlier this record was held by Comet Ikeya-Seki of 1965. This comet is a member of the ‘Crutes Sungrazing’ family. Let us tell you that comets of this family pass very close to the sun. Many comets that have shown bright and spectacular sights in history have come from this family.
Some of the best-known comets in the ‘Croots Sungrazing’ family include the Great Comet of 1882, Ikeya-Seki of 1965, and Lovejoy Comet of 2011. Ikeya-Seki was the brightest comet of the 20th century, shining as bright as a full moon, while Lovejoy appeared as bright as Venus. Comets of the Creutz family are fragments of an older, larger comet. Thousands of years ago, perhaps in the 3rd or 4th century BCE, a comet more than 100 kilometers across came too close to the Sun and disintegrated. After that its pieces kept returning at different times and kept breaking further.
In the year 363, several comets were seen together in daylight. The Great Comets seen in 1106 and 1138 in the 11th century also belonged to this family. Thousands of small fragments are still visible today from the SOHO spacecraft, but larger fragments are rare. C/2026 A1 (MAPS) has become special because it was discovered from a distance. This suggests that its nucleus may be larger than normal. It is gradually becoming shiny, which shows that it is a big piece, and is not breaking yet. However, with modern technology its nucleus does not appear to be as large as Ikeya-seki’s compared to older comets, so it would not be as bright.
In early April, this comet will pass at a distance of just 1,20,000 kilometers from the sun’s surface. If it survives the intense heat and gravity on its way, it will be a spectacular sight in the evening sky. Looking at its size, it is believed that it can be visible even in daylight. Kreutz Comets are easier to see from the Southern Hemisphere, so areas like southern India or Australia will have better viewing. Even if it breaks while passing near the Sun, it can suddenly emit a lot of brightness. However, it is difficult to say anything right now, and such comets break up many times.
Whatever one may say about this comet, but if it can withstand the heat of the Sun, then a spectacular sight will be seen in the evening sky in April. Good pictures will be available from SOHO spacecraft. According to the prediction of astronomer Janek Sekania, 2 large Creutz comets may appear in the coming decades, and this could be one of them. In such a situation, now everyone’s eyes are towards April when we can get to see such a wonderful sight which we may never see again in our life.
