All articles tagged with #perihelion
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe travels about 430,000 mph as it skimms the Sun with a 4.5-inch carbon-foam thermal shield that keeps its instruments near room temperature, enabling unprecedented study of the corona, solar wind, and magnetic switchbacks during close solar passes.
Space.com reports that Comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS displayed its ion tail as it passed about 45 million miles (72 million km) from Earth, with a dust tail lagging behind. The comet heated as it neared the Sun (perihelion on April 19) and then reached its closest approach to Earth around April 26, with SOHO imagery capturing the ion tail brightening and pointing away from the Sun.
Comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS should reach naked-eye visibility (magnitude ~4.7) in the eastern predawn sky on April 17, about 90 minutes before sunrise, low on the horizon and a few degrees above Algenib in Pegasus. Locate the Great Square and spot PanSTARRS about five degrees above the star; binoculars (10x50) can reveal its glowing nucleus. The comet will brighten toward its perihelion around April 19, then move southward and fade from Northern Hemisphere skies for the foreseeable future.
Live Science reports that comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS), a Kreutz sungrazer, did not survive its close pass with the Sun. Space-based observations show MAPS disintegrating into a cloud of debris and a ghostly tail after reaching perihelion about 100,000 miles from the solar surface, leaving no visible body behind.
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured, in real time, the fragmentation of the long‑period comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) after its near‑Sun passage, identifying at least four fragments over three days (Nov. 8–10, 2025) with one fragment fragmenting again; breakup began about a week earlier as heating and stress from perihelion likely exposed dust layers. K1, ~8 km across and from the distant Oort Cloud, was discovered by ATLAS in May 2025. The observations, described in a 2026 Icarus paper, offer rare insight into the physics of comet surfaces and dust production during disintegration.
Comet MAPS (C/2026 A1), a Kreutz sungrazer discovered in Chile, is heading for its perihelion near the Sun on April 4 at about 99,000 miles (160,000 km) away. It could be torn apart by solar heat and gravity, but if it survives it could glow as brightly as Venus in twilight; however, viewing will be tricky—best about 30 minutes after sunset, with the Northern Hemisphere facing limited visibility and a long tail potentially visible for several days.
A newly discovered comet, C/2026 A1 (MAPS), is brightening rapidly and could become visible from Earth if it survives a perilous close approach to the Sun on April 4, passing about 99,000 miles from the solar photosphere. If it endures, it may be seen in the western twilight around April 8–14, potentially as bright as Venus, with the safest viewing through SOHO’s LASCO C3 imagery from April 2–6. Astronomers emphasize eye safety when looking near the Sun and note the comet’s Kreutz sungrazer nature and long orbital history, with observations focusing on the Sun‑watching spacecraft for near-real-time images.
A newly discovered comet, C/2026 A1 (MAPS), has brightened enough to potentially be seen from Earth in coming weeks, but only if it survives an extremely close pass by the Sun on April 4, nearly skimming the solar surface at about 159,000 km. If it endures, it could briefly appear in the western twilight between April 8–14, possibly rivaling Venus in brightness. Observers are urged to use caution around looking at the Sun; binoculars may help locate it and viewing via SOHO's LASCO imagery offers a safer alternative. The MAPS team discovered the comet on Jan. 13 in Chile, and its fate hinges on whether solar heat and gravity tear it apart during perihelion.
Analysis of comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresák from its 2017 close solar approach shows a dramatic spin-down followed by an apparent spin reversal, inferred from light curves and Hubble data. The rapid change, likely driven by torques from outgassed jets on its ~1‑km nucleus, exceeds previous records and could spin the comet apart if it continues; the finding is in an arXiv preprint and not yet peer‑reviewed, with the next spin measurements expected at the 2028 perihelion.
Discovered C/2026 A1 (MAPS) is a Kreutz sungrazing comet that will swing within about 0.5 million miles of the Sun at perihelion on April 4; if it survives the solar blast, it could become bright enough to be seen with the naked eye—even in daylight—if it survives the solar encounter; observers in the Southern Hemisphere are best placed to view, while those in the north may see it low on the western horizon at sunset; most sungrazers disintegrate near perihelion, so brightness is uncertain, and even if it breaks up it could remain visible with a telescope in late March; another potential bright comet, C/2025 PanSTARRS, may follow later in April.
A newly discovered Kreutz sungrazer, C/2026 A1 (MAPS), may swing extremely close to the Sun in early April. If it survives perihelion, it could become a notable evening sky object and possibly visible in daylight; its brightness depends on whether it remains intact or breaks up, with the southern hemisphere likely having the best viewing opportunity. SOHO will provide images of the event.
Astronomers have spotted a new comet, C/2026 A1 (MAPS), discovered Jan 13 by four amateur observers in the Atacama. It’s a member of the Kreutz sungrazing family and will swing very close to the Sun, passing within about 120,000 km at perihelion in early April. If it survives perihelion, MAPS could become a spectacular evening sight in early to mid-April and might even be daylight-visible, though it could fragment. Ongoing observations suggest it’s brightening, and SOHO images may capture it regardless. Viewing will be easiest from the southern hemisphere; stay tuned for updates as the close solar pass approaches.
Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) will reach perihelion today, skimming about 84.6 million km from the Sun and brightening to roughly magnitude +8.1, visible only with binoculars or a telescope. It won’t be naked-eye visible this pass, but it’s expected to return in February for a better chance to be seen from Earth, with a perigee around 93 million miles (1 AU) and viewing opportunities shifting from the Southern Hemisphere this month to the Northern Hemisphere in mid-February after sunset. Discovered in 2024 by the Catalina Sky Survey and likely originating in the Oort Cloud, JWST observations have studied its spectrum; the comet poses no threat.
Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) is near perihelion today, Jan 20, skimming about 52.6 million miles from the Sun at 1:24 p.m. EST, which should brighten it but likely won’t be visible to the naked eye (peak magnitude around +8.1). It will require a small telescope or good skies, and observers in the U.S. may have limited viewing as the comet travels through Microscopium and dips below the horizon at night. After Earth’s closer approach on Feb. 17 (about 93 million miles away), it will still be faint and best seen near sunset from favorable southern skies, fading as it moves away. The object was discovered in 2024 by the Catalina Sky Survey and is tracked by space observers like NASA/JWST, with visibility depending on local conditions.
In 2026, Earth reached perihelion—its closest approach to the Sun—on Jan 3 at about 91.4 million miles (147,099,894 km). The roughly 3% distance change compared with its farthest point yields negligible shifts in global temperatures; seasons are driven primarily by the tilt of Earth's axis, not distance to the Sun. Perihelion matters more for highly elliptical orbits like comets or spacecraft such as NASA's Parker Solar Probe.