Where are we now?

2026-04-03 04:00:00 UTC (Delta: 2026-04-02)

☄️C/2026 A1 (MAPS)
- Barycentric speed: 114.90 km/s (+19.15 km/s)
- Perihelion in: 1 day
- Closest approach to Earth in: 2 days
- Brightness (Mag): 2.31 (-2.33)
- Visibility: Both hemispheres | Naked eye | Urban sky

🌎 Relative to Earth
- Distance (km): 158,914,459.29 km (-2,609,327.87 km)
- Distance (AU): 1.06 (-0.02)
- Light travel time: 8 min 50.10 s (-8.70 s)

#C2026A1 #Maps #Comet #Space

Apr 3 at 4:12amWeb
Show threadWhere are we now?1d ago

While you're riding that Artemis high, save some popcorn for tomorrow's main event: Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) is about to do a spicy flyby through the solar corona.

This icy dirtball hasn't visited since the late Roman Empire (1,700 years ago). JWST confirms a 400 m core, but as it brushes the Sun tomorrow, it could outshine Venus.

Check the SOHO or PROBA-3 feeds for the best views. And please, don't stare at the Sun, our eyes aren't space probes!

Show threadWhere are we now?21h ago

C/2026 A1 (MAPS) is just 22 hours from perihelion. The animation from SOHO's Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO C3) shows the comet steadily approaching the Sun.

The current speed is 133 km/s and increasing.

#C2026A1 #MAPS #Comet #Space #SOHO