'Easter comet' could be visible in daytime skies this April — if it survives a fiery dive past the sun
By Joe Rao
Published on March 10, 2026.
A newly discovered comet, Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS), could become visible from Earth if it survives a near-Earth encounter with the sun on April 4. The comet was discovered on Jan. 13 by four French astronomers, Alain Maury, Georges Attard, Daniel Parrott, and Florian Signoret. It will pass just 99,000 miles (159,300 km) from the solar photosphere at its closest approach to the sun at around 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT). The safest way to watch this close encounter is to view it on a computer screen via LASCO (Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph Experiment) C3.
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'Easter comet' could be visible in daytime skies this April — if it survives a fiery dive past the sun
Comet C/2026 A1, discovered by French astronomers, could become an "Easter comet" visible from Earth on April 4 if it survives a fiery encounter with the sun.