Comets fly through our solar system fairly often, but unless you are an astronomer of some sort, they are rarely seen. In order for a comet to be seen by the average person without a powerful telescope, the comet needs to pass close by the sun so that the light is reflected off in a way that we can see.

Passing by the sun also tends to melt off gasses and other material from the comet, which give them their iconic tail that make them easier to spot in the sky.

A newly discovered Kreutz sungrazer comet looks like it may meet all the criteria to be visible from Earth by billions of people.

The comet was discovered by a group of French amateur astronomers on January 20th, which makes this a record breaking comet. It is the earliest Kreutz comet ever spotted, giving us a great lead time (11.5 weeks) before it reaches its perihelion (the closest point to the sun). Jonti Horner wrote about this in The Conversation, saying:

“It’s moving on an orbit typical of Kreutz sungrazing comets, and already holds one record. At the time of its discovery, comet MAPS was farther from the Sun than any previous newly discovered sungrazer. That suggests it might be a larger-than-usual fragment—perhaps.”

The comet was named C/2026 A1 (MAPS), and it is traveling on a path just below the plane of the Solar System. It is on track to reach its perihelion on April 4th, 2026, which means it will likely be visible for days or even weeks before and after that date.

The question is just how bright it will be. Some become bright for extended periods of time, while others end up only getting bright for very little time. There is also the chance that it will get ripped apart as it approaches or leaves the sun.

Experts predict that this comet will be about as bright as Venus as it passes by the Sun, meaning it would be visible with the naked eye at night. It would likely have at least some tail to it, making it relatively easy to spot if you know where to look. Stargazing reports will undoubtedly put out information about where to look in the sky for each day as well as where people are looking from on Earth.

While its path is still being closely tracked, it is likely that the best views of the comet will come in the Southern Hemisphere, though those in the North could still see it as well. It will almost certainly be easily visible from solar observatories in space, however, so at the least, there will be plenty of pictures taken of this record breaking comet.

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