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In the coming weeks, residents of Belarus will be able to observe the comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS). It will reach maximum brightness in early April and may even be visible during the daytime.
The comet was discovered on January 13 at the AMACS1 observatory in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, by a group of French astronomers. C/2026 A1 belongs to the rare Kreutz family of sungrazing comets. Such comets pass extremely close to the Sun. If they do not break apart, they can become extraordinarily bright.
The comet will be best visible in the Southern Hemisphere. Residents of the Northern Hemisphere will be able to observe it before sunrise or immediately after sunset, low above the horizon.
C/2026 A1 will make its closest approach to the Sun on April 4–5 and will be noticeable in bright twilight. From April 6 to 15, if the comet survives perihelion, it may be visible to the naked eye during the day, according to starwalk.space.
According to calculations by the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the comet will disintegrate on April 4 when approaching the Sun, and it will be best visible for about an hour and a half after sunset in the final days of March.