‘Comet Of The Year’ Vaporized — But Another Will Peak Late April

Comet MAPS (C/2026 A1) disintegrated during an extreme close pass of the sun on April 4, 2026, and did not reappear.

SOHO's coronagraph captured the comet's destruction and a dust stream as the nucleus broke apart.

Attention now turns to Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS), which will reach perihelion on April 20 and approach Earth around April 27, with brightness estimates ranging from magnitude 8 to 2.5.