{"id":368878,"date":"2026-01-14T06:59:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T06:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/368878\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T06:59:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T06:59:12","slug":"space-news-astronomers-reveal-when-great-comet-of-2026-will-be-visible-with-naked-eye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/368878\/","title":{"rendered":"Space news: Astronomers reveal when ‘Great Comet of 2026’ will be visible with naked eye"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stargazers could soon witness what may become the brightest comet of 2026.<\/p>\n

The celestial object known as C\/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) has been dubbed the “Great Comet of 2026” by astronomers.<\/p>\n

It might be visible without any equipment, though binoculars or a small telescope could be needed.<\/p>\n

Scientists remain uncertain about exactly how luminous the comet will appear – but it has the potential to outshine any other comet this year.<\/p>\n

Last year brought several impressive comets into view, including Comet C\/2025 A6 (Lemmon), which displayed a striking green colour.<\/p>\n

The comet was only discovered in September 2025, making it a recent addition to astronomical records.<\/p>\n

It was found by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System, which gives the comet its PanSTARRS name.<\/p>\n

This icy visitor takes an extraordinarily long time to complete its journey around the Sun.<\/p>\n

\"Great<\/p>\n

PICTURED: C\/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS), which has been dubbed the ‘Great Comet of 2026’ by astronomers<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

Its orbital period exceeds 1,000 years, meaning few humans will ever get the chance to see it.<\/p>\n

Such a lengthy orbit makes this a once-in-many-lifetimes opportunity for observers in the UK and beyond.<\/p>\n

The comet will make its closest pass by the Sun on April 20.<\/p>\n

Just one week later, on April 27, it will reach its nearest point to Earth.<\/p>\n

LATEST SPACE HEADLINES FROM GB NEWS:<\/p>\n

At that moment, the distance between the comet and our planet will be approximately 44 million miles.<\/p>\n

In comparison, the Moon sits at an average distance of roughly 239,000 miles from Earth.<\/p>\n

Those eager to catch a glimpse should mark April 17 in their diaries – it coincides with the New Moon, providing exceptionally dark skies for observation.<\/p>\n

A bright Full Moon typically hampers stargazing, but the New Moon creates ideal conditions.<\/p>\n

\"Comet<\/p>\n

Nasa imagery of the comet’s orbital path shows it will reach its closest point to Earth in April<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

NASA JET PROPULSION LABORATORY<\/p>\n

Visibility may decrease as the comet nears the Sun, then improve again in late April.<\/p>\n

The best time to look up is just before dawn breaks, with stargazers told to direct their gaze towards the constellation of Pisces.<\/p>\n

Astronomers say giving your eyes time to adjust to the darkness before searching the sky is vital.<\/p>\n

Heading to the countryside offers the clearest conditions – while locations that are either elevated or completely flat work best for spotting the comet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stargazers could soon witness what may become the brightest comet of 2026. The celestial object known as C\/2025…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[90,2331,416,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-368878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-science","tag-sgg","tag-space","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}