When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) as seen over Málaga, Spain, on Oct. 1, 2025. | Credit: Javier Zayas Photography/Getty ImagesAfter the excitement of three visible comets in 2025, another may put on a show in late April 2026. However, although the comet, known as C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS), could become bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, it could just as easily remain visible only through binoculars and telescopes.In the wake of Comets C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) and C/2025 R2 (SWAN) in October, Comet R3 (PanSTARRS) is due to reach perihelion — its closest point to the sun — on April 20, 2026. On that date, this icy visitor to the inner solar system will come within 47.4 million miles (76.3 million kilometers) of the sun.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat’s between the orbits of Mercury and Venus, or between 29 million and 67 million miles (47 million to 108 million kilometers), on average. On April 27, Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) will be at its closest point to Earth — within 44 million miles (70.8 million km) — and so will probably be at its brightest.Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) distance and brightnessThe orbital path of Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) through the inner solar system. | Credit: JPL Small-Body Database LookupThe brightness of comets is notoriously unpredictable. Although Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) could prove to be the brightest comet of 2026, it’s not known how bright it will get. Some predict it could reach magnitude 8, which is about the same brightness as Neptune — too faint to be seen with the naked eye but easy to spot in binoculars or a small telescope. Others predict Comet C/2025 R3 could reach a brightness of magnitude 2.5. That’s comparable to the brightest stars in the famous W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia, which is easily visible with unaided eyes in a dark sky.Comet R3’s prospects of becoming a bright, easy-to-see nighttime object may be enhanced by a phenomenon called forward scattering. Because this comet will move between Earth and the sun, its tail will reflect and scatter a lot of sunlight in the direction of Earth — and into the eyes of observers — in late April 2026.When and where to see Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS)Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) an hour before sunrise on April 13, 2025, as seen from midlatitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. | Credit: Starry NightComet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) will be at its best in …
