What Comet Is Visible Now? Best Comets to Watch in 2026
Looking for the next comet visible from Earth? In April 2026, the leading candidates are C/2026 A1 (MAPS) and C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS). MAPS could become the most talked-about comet of early April, while PanSTARRS is one to watch later in the month. The big question is whether they’ll become visible to the naked eye — and both comets have a real shot. In this guide, you’ll find the most promising comets of 2026. For real-time comet tracking and visibility forecasts tailored to your location, use the free Sky Tonight app.
Contents
- Next comet visible from Earth: April 2026
- Late March – early April 2026: C/2026 A1 (MAPS) 🌟
- Comet in April – May 2026: C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS 🌟
- Comet in mid-February – April 2026: 88P/Howell
- Comet in early July – late August 2026: 10P/Tempel 2
- How to find a comet using Sky Tonight?
- Next comet visible from Earth: Bottom line
Next comet visible from Earth: April 2026
The next comet in the spotlight is C/2026 A1 (MAPS), a rare Kreutz sungrazer that is steadily brightening and is already within reach of binoculars. The real drama unfolds on April 4–5, when it swings extremely close to the Sun, briefly hiding from view. It’s an all-or-nothing moment: the comet could break apart, but if it survives, skywatchers may be rewarded with a naked-eye comet glowing in the twilight sky in the Southern Hemisphere.
Another worth watching object is C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS), a more predictable comet that is already visible in telescopes as well. It should stay in view from the Northern Hemisphere until the end of April. After reaching perihelion on April 19, it could brighten enough to become visible to the naked eye, and in the best-case scenario, it may even approach planet-like brightness. By late April and into May, it will move from northern skies into a more favorable position for the Southern Hemisphere.
Place your bets: which comet will be best in April — MAPS or PanSTARRS?
These comets are listed by when they’re actually visible from Earth, not by their perihelion or closest‐approach dates (some aren’t observable at those moments), so refer to each comet’s visibility window highlighted in the title.
Late March – early April 2026: C/2026 A1 (MAPS) 🌟
- Perihelion: April 4, 2026 (mag -2.8)
- Closest approach to Earth: April 6, 2026 (mag 1.9)
- Where to observe: Both hemispheres
Will C/2026 A1 (MAPS) be visible from Earth?
C/2026 A1 (MAPS) is already visible through binoculars or a small telescope and continues to brighten. However, in early April it will be much harder to observe as it moves closer to the Sun and sinks deeper into bright twilight. The key moment will come on April 4, 2026, when the comet makes its extremely close pass by the Sun.
- If it survives, MAPS could brighten quickly after perihelion and become visible to the naked eye for a short time, with the best chances expected on April 6–10. The Southern Hemisphere is expected to get the best views, with the comet appearing in the western sky after sunset. In the Northern Hemisphere, it will remain much lower above the southwestern horizon at dusk, making it harder to spot even if it becomes bright.
- If it does not survive, the nucleus may break apart near perihelion and fade rapidly. Even in that case, the show may not be over: the comet can still leave behind a striking dust tail for several days, creating the kind of post-perihelion display sometimes called a “headless wonder.”
C/2026 A1 (MAPS) is a Kreutz sungrazer — a comet that will pass extremely close to the Sun in early April 2026. Sungrazers are unpredictable: some disintegrate, while others — such as Ikeya-Seki (1965) and Lovejoy (2011) — survive the Sun’s heat and turn into breathtaking naked-eye comets.
In most scenarios, MAPS is expected to brighten rapidly and then fade quickly after perihelion, making late March-early April 2026 a narrow but potentially spectacular observing window.
Learn more: Comet MAPS: detailed guide
When was C/2026 A1 (MAPS) discovered?
Comet MAPS was discovered on January 13, 2026 by a team of four astronomers: Alain Maury, Georges Attard, Daniel Parrott, and Florian Signoret, using robotic telescopes in Chile as part of the MAPS (Maury/Attard/Parrott/Signoret) program. The comet belongs to the Kreutz sungrazer family — comets that pass extremely close to the Sun and are thought to be fragments of a much larger comet that broke apart long ago.
Comet MAPS is the furthest Kreutz sungrazer comet ever discovered; it was found from the AMACS1 Observatory near San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, at roughly 2.06 AU from the Sun and 1.43 AU from Earth — much farther than any Kreutz comet has been discovered before.
Comet in April – May 2026: C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS 🌟
- Perihelion: April 19, 2026 (mag 2.9)
- Closest approach to Earth: April 26, 2026 (mag 0.5, possibly up to −1.0)
- Where to observe: Northern Hemisphere (before perihelion), Southern Hemisphere (after perihelion)
Will C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS be visible from Earth?
C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) is already visible through telescopes from the Northern Hemisphere and may become visible to the naked eye after passing perihelion on April 19, 2026. In the most likely scenario, it could brighten to about magnitude 2.9 — similar to the stars of the Big Dipper. In the best case, it could become much brighter, possibly reaching magnitude −1.0 and rivaling the brightest planets, although it would still look like a fuzzy object, not a bright point of light.
The best time to look for C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS will be from late April to early May 2026, when it appears low in the twilight sky. Before perihelion, Northern Hemisphere observers have the better chance in the morning sky. After perihelion, visibility rapidly worsens in the north and improves in the Southern Hemisphere, where the comet will become an evening object in late April and early May.
Learn more: All you need to know about C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS
When was C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS discovered?
The comet was discovered on September 8, 2025, by the Pan-STARRS survey telescope in Hawaii. C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS is a long-period comet with an unknown orbital period. It may follow a hyperbolic path, making a single pass by the Sun before heading into interstellar space. If so, April 2026 could be humanity’s only chance to see it. Even if further calculations show the comet is still gravitationally tied to the Sun, its orbit would probably be so long that it won’t come back in our lifetimes.
Comet in mid-February – April 2026: 88P/Howell
- Perihelion: March 18, 2026 (mag 12.8)
- Closest approach to Earth: October 10, 2026 (mag 15.4)
- Where to observe: Southern Hemisphere
Will 88P/Howell be visible from Earth?
Comet 88P/Howell is one of the quieter comet targets of 2026, visible from southern latitudes from mid-February to about the end of April. It reached its brightest point around perihelion on March 18, 2026, when it became a good telescopic target. In April, it should still remain observable through telescopes for Southern Hemisphere skywatchers.
When was 88P/Howell discovered?
88P/Howell was discovered on August 29, 1981, by Ellen Howell, an American astronomer and planetary scientist. It is a short-period comet with an orbital period of about 5.5 years. During a favorable return, the comet may reach around 7th magnitude.
Comet in early July – late August 2026: 10P/Tempel 2
- Perihelion: August 2, 2026 (mag 6.9)
- Closest approach to Earth: August 3, 2026 (mag 6.9)
- Where to observe: Both hemispheres
Will 10P/Tempel 2 be visible from Earth?
From July 2026 onward, 10P/Tempel 2 will emerge in the evening sky after sunset. The comet will be visible in both hemispheres; in the Southern Hemisphere, it will rise much higher above the horizon than in the Northern Hemisphere. Around perihelion, the comet should brighten to about mag 7.0 — easily seen with binoculars or a small telescope under dark skies.
When was 10P/Tempel 2 discovered?
Discovered on July 4, 1873, by Wilhelm Tempel, 10P/Tempel 2 is a Jupiter-family periodic comet. It orbits the Sun every 1,960 days (≈5.37 years), traveling between 1.42 AU at perihelion and 4.71 AU at aphelion.
How to find a comet using Sky Tonight?
Comets are faint and fuzzy objects that are hard to detect, so it’s best to know their location for certain. The Sky Tonight app will help you quickly find any bright comet in the sky. Here’s what you need to do:
- Tap the magnifier icon at the lower part of the screen;
- In the Search field, enter the comet’s name or designation;
- Find the comet in the search results and tap the blue target icon next to its name;
- The app will show the comet’s current location in the sky;
- Point your device at the sky and follow the white arrow to find the comet.
You can also tap the comet’s name in the search results and then go to the Events tab to view the events related to the comet: perihelion and closest approach to Earth. Tap the blue target icon next to the event to see the comet’s location at the time of perihelion or closest approach.
Next comet visible from Earth: Bottom line
Early April 2026 could bring one of the most dramatic comet moments of the year as C/2026 A1 (MAPS) makes its daring plunge toward the Sun. Will it survive and erupt into a naked-eye comet — or perish in the solar glare? Either way, all eyes will be on it.
Hot on its heels comes C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS), which could brighten enough to become a naked-eye object under favorable conditions by late April 2026. If both comets live up to their potential, we might get as many as two naked-eye comets in one month!
Stay tuned for the latest comet updates! While we’re waiting for a bright comet to appear, let’s brush up on some astronomy basics in an easy, visual way. Learn how comets differ from meteors and asteroids with our All You Need to Know About Comets infographic.
While working on this article, we used data from the following sources:
- Comet Observation database;
- TheSkyLive;
- Astronomer Gideon van Buitenen;
- Astronomer Seiichi Yoshida.
