Astronomers may have already spotted the ‘Great Comet of 2026’ — and it could soon be visible to the naked eye
We may be less than two weeks into 2026, but a new comet is already leading the charge to become the “Great Comet” of the year. The highly anticipated ice ball, potentially visible to the naked eye, will reach its closest point to us in less than four months.
Scientists have discovered the incoming comet, named C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS)on September 8, 2025, in images captured by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) – a pair of 5.9-foot (1.8-meter) reflector telescopes located atop the Haleakalā volcano in Hawaii. It is currently about 216 million miles (348 million kilometers) from Earth, halfway between the orbits of Jupiter And Marchaccording to TheSkyLive.com.
C/2025 R3 is currently heading toward the sun and will reach perihelion – its closest point to our home star – on April 20. It will be less than 47.4 million miles (76.3 million km) from the sun, or somewhere between the orbits of Mercury And Venus.
Barely a week later, on April 27, the comet will make its closest approach to Earth, being less than 70.8 million kilometers from our planet, more than 180 times further from us than the moon East.
Astronomers do not yet know how brightly the comet will shine during its solar flyby, Live Science partner site Space.com recently reported. Some researchers predicted it would reach an apparent magnitude of 8, meaning it would only be visible via decent light. telescope or a pair of binoculars for stargazing. But others estimate that it could reach a magnitude of 2.5, which would make it clearly visible to the naked eye. (Apparent magnitude is measured on a reverse logarithmic scale, meaning a lower number equals greater brightness.)
When to see comet C/2025 R3
The best chance of seeing C/2025 R3 will likely be just before perihelion, around April 17, when a new moon darkens the night sky, making it easier to spot objects in the dawn of naked-eye visibility. But as it gets closer to Earth, the comet could be obscured by the sun, making it harder to spot. Viewers in the southern hemisphere will also be able to get a good look at the comet in early May.
Whether the comet becomes visible to the naked eye may depend on a phenomenon known as forward scatter, which occurs when a comet is positioned directly between Earth and the sun, as C/2025 R3 will be. If that happens, the comet’s tail will likely scatter more sunlight, increasing its brightness, according to Space.com.
A comet’s brightness also depends on how it responds to increased solar radiation: As a comet gets closer to the sun, it absorbs more sunlight, causing it to release trapped ice and gases, which reflect sunlight back to Earth. But it’s too early to predict exactly how this will affect the C/2025 R3.
During its perihelion and flyby of Earth, C/2025 R3 will be located in the constellation Pisces, just below the Great Square of Pegasus, according to Space.com.
The next “Great Comet”?
Several amazing comets have passed near Earth in recent years, including the explosive “devil’s comet” 12P/Pons-Brooks and the Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS “once in a lifetime”which passed by in 2024, as well as the ultra bright comets Lemon And SWANwhich it simultaneously lit up our sky last year.
In 2025, astronomers also discovered the interstellar comet 3I/ATLASwho made headlines due to wild and unfounded comments rumors that it was an alien spaceship. He reaches its closest point to Earth in December but is now quickly moving away from us and going soon to disappear forever.
Currently, few notable comets are expected to pass near us this year, leading many to speculate that C/2025 R3 will be the “Great Comet” of 2026 — a superlative title often used to refer to describe the brightest comet in a given year.
However, there is always a chance that an even better and brighter comet will soon be discovered and make a similar spectacular flyby later in the year.
