Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

Here’s What Has to Go Right for You to See the Rare Sungrazer Comet This Weekend

A comet is about to do something pretty wild this Saturday, which is flying absurdly close to the sun and hoping for the best.

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

A comet is about to do something pretty wild this Saturday, April 4th, which is flying absurdly close to the sun and hoping for the best.

The object in question is Comet C/2026 A1, better known as MAPS, a rare Kreutz sungrazer that will make its closest pass by the sun on April 4. According to the British Astronomical Association, it’s expected to skim about 98,000 miles above the sun’s surface and pass through the lower corona around 9:30 a.m. EDT. 

MAPS was discovered on January 13 by French astronomers working at the AMACS1 Observatory in Chile. Early estimates had the nucleus at around 1.5 miles wide, but later observations from the James Webb Space Telescope cut that down to roughly 0.4 kilometers, or about a quarter mile. This isn’t good news for the sungrazer, because the smaller they are, the less likely they are to survive a visit to the sun. Sky & Telescope described that size as roughly comparable to Comet Lovejoy, another sungrazer that famously survived a brutal solar pass in 2011.

What Has to Happen for You to See the Rare Sungrazer Comet This Weekend

The survival of this comet is the big draw. Kreutz sungrazers are comets that swing terrifyingly close to the sun, blaze brighter, and often break apart in the process. The European Space Agency notes that many of them simply evaporate. If MAPS holds together, even in part, it could put on a gorgeous show after sunset in the coming days. The British Astronomical Association says a bright tail may become visible in the western evening sky starting around April 9.

There’s also the possibility that it disintegrates and still gives us a decent show, because comet forecasts always come with a heavy dose of “maybe.” Space.com laid out the likeliest possibilities this week: total disintegration before perihelion, breakup after perihelion, or survival long enough to give observers a bright post-sunset display. Given the comet’s relatively small nucleus, that first outcome is very much on the table.

For anyone tempted by the “daylight comet” angle, don’t be dumb about it. Viewing anything near the sun can permanently damage your eyes. Space.com recommends following the action through NASA’s SOHO LASCO C3 camera rather than trying to spot it yourself in broad daylight. If MAPS survives, the safer and much less dangerous plan is to wait a few days and look west after sunset. 

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

NASA Here’s What Has to Go Right for You to See the Rare Sungrazer Comet This Weekend 14 minutes ago By Ashley Fike

Here’s What Has to Go Right for You to See the Rare Sungrazer Comet This Weekend

The Side of You People Rarely See, According to Your Zodiac Sign 30 minutes ago By Sammi Caramela

The Side of You People Rarely See, According to Your Zodiac Sign

(Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy) Zara Larsson Remains Firmly in Chappell Roan’s Corner: ‘When a Woman Has Boundaries I Think People Freak Out’ 53 minutes ago By Lauren Boisvert

Zara Larsson Remains Firmly in Chappell Roan’s Corner: ‘When a Woman Has Boundaries I Think People Freak Out’

(Photo by Krisztian Elek/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) 4 Rock Bands Who I Can’t Believe Have Fewer Than 100 Monthly Listeners 2 hours ago By Lauren Boisvert

4 Rock Bands Who I Can’t Believe Have Fewer Than 100 Monthly Listeners

How to Microdose Weed Without Accidentally Getting Too High 2 hours ago By Maha Haq | Reviewed by Ysolt Usigan

How to Microdose Weed Without Accidentally Getting Too High

By Maha Haq | Reviewed by Ysolt Usigan

Your Dirty Laundry Just Got Dirtier: These Sex Blankets Are For Your Messiest Nights 3 hours ago By Gigi Fong | Reviewed by Ysolt Usigan

Your Dirty Laundry Just Got Dirtier: These Sex Blankets Are For Your Messiest Nights

By Gigi Fong | Reviewed by Ysolt Usigan

Photo Credit: Marc Andrew Deley/FilmMagic Goo Goo Dolls Have Canceled Their Third Show in a Row, Due to Singer John Rzeznik’s Health 3 hours ago By Stephen Andrew Galiher

Goo Goo Dolls Have Canceled Their Third Show in a Row, Due to Singer John Rzeznik’s Health

By Stephen Andrew Galiher

Screenshot: Steam 2018 Action-Adventure Game Drops to Only $2 Days Before It’s Permanently Delisted 4 hours ago By Denny Connolly

2018 Action-Adventure Game Drops to Only $2 Days Before It’s Permanently Delisted

Pragmata Reveals Surprising File Size and Pre-Load Date 4 hours ago By John Bonelli

Pragmata Reveals Surprising File Size and Pre-Load Date

(Photo: wildpixl/Getty Images) A Quadriplegic Punk Rocker Got Brain Implants That Let Him Make Music: ‘We’ll Have a Complete DJ Booth Coming Out of My Head’ 5 hours ago By Stephen Andrew Galiher

A Quadriplegic Punk Rocker Got Brain Implants That Let Him Make Music: ‘We’ll Have a Complete DJ Booth Coming Out of My Head’

By Stephen Andrew Galiher

Kill the ads for just $2 a month

VICE membership also gives you access to our very best writing and exclusive new documentaries.

Add your account details

© Vice